Leaving meat in hot car puts your family's health at risk

People could be putting their health at serious risk by leaving meat, fish and poultry in overheated cars instead of bringing it straight home from the shops, it has been claimed.

One butcher said a chilled chicken could see its temperature rise to over 16 degrees after spending even 10 minutes in a car in the heat of recent days.

Meat not kept chilled properly carries a higher risk of Salmonella and E. coli - which can lead to diarrhoea, abdominal cramping, pain or tenderness as well as nausea and vomiting.

According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, fresh meat should spend no longer than two hours outside of a refrigerator - with the clock starting to tick the moment it is lifted off the shop shelf rather than the moment it leaves the store.

A Food Safety Authority of Ireland spokeswoman said chilled food should not spend any longer than two hours out of a refrigerator irrespective of whether or not it is in a cooler bag.

“The reason we say two hours max for both a bag and a cooler bag is that it’s one simple message,” the spokeswoman said.

“A cooler bag may well give a bit more time than two hours, but that all depends on the cooler bag and whether or not the person has added ice blocks to it.

"By giving two different times for different bags, there’s a risk that people may get confused and mix them up,” she said.