A new study is suggesting more and more people think their food arrives at their home contaminated, leading to food born illness. 83% of respondents to a recent survey thought the food industry was to blame when in fact, contamination is usually our own fault.

Travis Philipation is Director of Community and Environmental Health Services and says 1 in 8 Canadians will suffer from an illness and the report shows 80% of those cases happen in our kitchen.

"There are many simple practices that people can do to protect themselves from food borne illness in the home. One of the simplest and easiest things is for people to wash their hands before and after handling foods, particularly hazardous foods (such as raw chicken) and after using the washroom and changing diapers."

With barbecue season approaching, one of the biggest mistakes is taking raw meat to the grill on a plate, cooking the food and then taking it to the table on that same plate that is now contaminated with meat juices. Philipation says the same goes for using the same utensils, such as tongs or fork to transfer that raw food to the cooking surface and then back to the plate.

We should also check out refrigerator to make sure that it's set no higher than +4 to ensure proper storage of foods. Checking the label to see how foods should be stored is another simple thing to do as some prepackaged foods need to be refrigerated after opening. Keeping a clean kitchen is another tip and using a sanitizer of some sort will help to keep bacterial growth to a minimum.