Food poisoning
Symptoms of food poisoning
Symptoms of food poisoning include:
- feeling sick or being sick
- diarrhoea
- tummy pain
- a high temperature
- feeling generally unwell
The symptoms usually start within a few hours or a few days of eating food that caused the infection.
Sometimes symptoms do not start for a few weeks.
How to treat food poisoning yourself
If you or your child have food poisoning, you can usually treat it at home.
The symptoms usually get better within a week.
A pharmacist can help with food poisoning
How you get food poisoning
Food poisoning is caused by eating something that has been contaminated with germs.
This can happen if food is:
- not cooked or reheated thoroughly
- not stored correctly – for example, it's not been frozen or chilled
- left out for too long
- handled by someone who's ill or has not washed their hands
- eaten after its "use by" date
Any type of food can cause food poisoning.
Infections that cause food poisoning
Food poisoning is usually caused by:
- campylobacter bacteria – the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK
- salmonella bacteria
- E. coli bacteria
- norovirus (vomiting bug)
Find out more about food hygiene and avoiding food poisoning from the Food Standards Agency website.
Last Reviewed
11 September 2025
11 September 2025
