The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign to tackle poor hygiene in pubs, restaurants and other catering outlets.
Research into consumer attitudes conducted for the FSA has shown that 12 per cent of consumers - 5.5 million people - suffered from food poisoning last year.
Almost three quarters of them believed it was caused by food they ate outside their homes.
The new multi-million pound campaign, which has the message "for safer food and better business - food safety, it's in your hands" will target licensees and managers and will contain information about how to improve hygiene standards.
It is the first phase of the FSA's five-year, UK-wide food hygiene campaign, which aims to reduce incidents of food poisoning in the UK by 20 per cent.
Sir John Krebs, chairman of the FSA, said: "The survey reveals that the levels of reported food poisoning remain unacceptably high. Most cases are preventable through simple good hygiene practices like washing hands.
"Consumers clearly expect the catering sector to raise its standards and are refusing to return to catering outlets that they believe to be unhygienic."
However, sick bags sent to a number of pubs to publicise the new campaign have been condemned as offensive.
Ian McKerracher, chief executive of the Restaurant Association, said: "Food safety issues are too important to trivialise in this way. The FSA should be working with the industry to gain co-operation on this issue, not insulting us.
"It seems a grotesque waste of taxpayers' money and a serious error of judgement."
The Consumers Association has welcomed the campaign, but repeated its call for compulsory licensing for all food premises. A dedicated campaign helpline has been set up by the FSA on 0845 608 6089.
More information is also available on www.food.gov/cleanup.
The FSA's Consumer Attitudes to Food survey
- more than half of all consumers (51 per cent) expressed concern about standards of hygiene in catering outlets - a rise from 42 per cent in 2000
- six out of 10 consumers who changed their eating habits as a result of a bad experience said they no longer used that outlet
- almost three quarters (72 per cent) of consumers' concerns were about the cleanliness of the premises, staff or kitchen