Diseases & conditions

UK Food Poisoning Cases Hit Decade High in 2024

Published JUN 27 2025

Story

Above: A lady looks at bananas for sale at a Tesco store in Cambridge, U.K., on Feb. 4, 2025. Image credit: David Tramontan/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

The Facts

Salmonella infections in England reached their highest level in a decade, increasing 17.1% from 8,872 cases in 2023 to 10,388 cases in 2024, according to the U.K. Health Security Agency (HSA). Children under 10 accounted for 21.5% of all cases.
GOV.UK
Campylobacter cases similarly increased by 17.1% from 60,055 in 2023 to 70,352 in 2024, reaching 121.9 reports per 100,000 population, representing the highest number of cases recorded in the past decade. Adults aged 50 to 79 years accounted for 44% of all Campylobacter reports.
GOV.UK
The National News
Daily Mail
Health officials said both are typically contracted through eating contaminated food, including poultry, meat, eggs, raw fruit, vegetables, and unpasteurized milk products, as well as through close contact with infected individuals and cross-contamination when cooking.
The Telegraph
The Independent
The infections cause similar symptoms, including diarrhea, stomach pains, cramps, vomiting, and mild fever, with most people recovering within one to two weeks. However, young children, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems face much higher risks.
The Independent
Sky News
Health officials are probing the cause of the rise in cases, which they posit are likely due to multiple factors, including better testing and cost-of-living pressures, as surveys show one in eight adults take food safety risks to save money, such as poor storage or prep habits.
The Telegraph
GOV.UK
The government recommended following the "4Cs" of food hygiene: chilling food below 5°C (41°F), cleaning equipment and surfaces thoroughly, cooking food according to product labels, and avoiding cross-contamination.
GOV.UK

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

The UK's record salmonella cases are no coincidence — they reflect years of underfunding environmental health oversight and a sharp rise in raw milk consumption. Without enough inspectors on the ground and with risky unpasteurized products on the rise, the system is cracking.

BBC News

guardian

Narrative B

Blaming raw milk for rising foodborne illness is a scapegoat. The real issue lies in systemic vulnerabilities, like cyberattacks that paralyze chilled food distribution. When hackers freeze supply chains, food spoils. That's a tech and infrastructure failure, not a dairy one.