Dubai: The notion that there is a rise in food poisoning cases during the summer could be purely a misconception, if data on food-borne illnesses are any indication.
According to the data, cases related to food-borne illnesses numbered 120 in January this year. There were 115 such cases in June.
“It is cross contamination during winters and temperature abuse during summers which leads to food borne illnesses including food poisoning. The risk of food poisoning is the same throughout the year,” said Bobby Krishna, Senior Food studies and Survey Officer, Food Control Department, Dubai Municipality.
“During winters, people here go out for picnics, barbeques more often and are not careful about cross contamination. In summers, they need to ensure that food should be below 5 degrees or above 60 degrees to be kept out of the ‘danger zone’ where harmful bacteria grow,” he explained.
