The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is urging households to follow safe practices to prevent bacterial food poisoning as the number of cases rise with the warm weather.

According to the ministry on Friday, there were 198 suspected reports of food poisoning in the first four months of this year, adding there has been an increase in suspected cases of the pathogenic E. coli and clostridium perfringens compared to the past five years.

Officials advised the public to immediately consume raw vegetables or to store washed vegetables in the refrigerator. When cooking produce in large amounts, people are advised to soak it in a chlorine disinfectant for five minutes before rinsing under tap water two to three times.

When handling eggs or chicken, the ministry recommended hand washing after handling and cooking at 75 degrees Celsius for at least one minute to prevent salmonella food poisoning.

To avoid perfringens food poisoning, the ministry has advised keeping meat dishes warm in sauce at 60 degrees or higher, or putting them in the fridge.