Desperate for a cup of coffee to kickstart the day, we’ve all at some point grabbed a carton of milk out of the office fridge without checking its use-by date.

It’s only when worrying-looking white blobs start bobbing on the surface of your drink that you might do a double-take.

And who actually checks how long all the other food has been in that communal cooler? Mayo with a best-before date of 2024, anyone?

In workplaces with an efficient ­­office manager, the fridge and the rest of the kitchen may have got a spring clean at the end of last year. In many others, however, it’s possible that Jenny from accounts’ packed lunch from December is still hiding at the bottom of the vegie crisper.

Australia’s Food Safety Information Council has started the year by issuing back-to-work food safety advice to help workers and employers avoid a nasty case of food poisoning.

“Our most recent survey shows that 66 per cent of Australians surveyed recall experiencing some form of food poisoning or gastro in the last year, and we know that cases of gastro can spread quickly throughout a workplace once people get sick,” said council CEO Lydia Buchtmann.

Around 4.7 million cases of food poisoning are reported in Australia each year, according to the country’s food standards authority, with “unsafe food” causing almost 48,000 hospitalisations.

So here are the Food Safety Information Council’s six top tips to reduce the chance of getting food poisoning at work ­– which you may find equally at useful at home.

• Always wash your hands before touching food ­– and that means rubbing them together with soap for at least 20 seconds. “Employers should ensure handwashing soap and drying facilities are available in kitchens and bathrooms and regularly replenished,” advises the council. “You’ll find people will have fewer sick days.”
• Use an ice brick or frozen drink to keep your lunch cold while commuting to work, then put it in the fridge. If you work outside, use a cooler with ice bricks.
• Fridges should be kept at or below 5 degrees, so use a fridge thermometer to ensure the office fridge is cold enough. It’s also best to keep it uncrowded.
• Set up a roster to make sure the fridge is cleared out regularly ­– including getting rid of packaged foods past their use-by date. Providing sticky labels and a pen by the fridge so employees can label their food will help. The roster can also ensure kitchen benchtops are regularly cleaned, with dishcloths, sponges, brushes and tea towels replaced.
• Wash your own dishes or put them in the dishwasher … which might seem like a no-brainer, but we all know it isn’t.
• Don’t go to work if you have gastro, and avoid handling food for other people for at least 48 hours after symptoms stop.

With school holidays ending later this month and the hot weather providing ideal conditions for food bacteria to grow quickly, the Food Safety Information Council’s packed-lunch safety tips are also timely for both adults and kids.

These include making sure lunchboxes are clean, and packing perishable foods like cheese and sandwiches between an ice pack, frozen water bottle or juice box.

“Make sure lunchbox foods have been well separated from other foods in the refrigerator, particularly meats, chicken and fish, the juices of which will contaminate foods which won’t be cooked before adding to the lunchbox, such as fruits,” the council says.