cooks are being urged to stop washing chicken before they cook it as part of a major new public health campaign to combat food poisoning.

Almost half of Scots say they wash chicken when they prepare it, but the Food Standards Agency (FSA) says they should stop doing so. FSA chiefs say the practice can spread the campylobacter bacteria to hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment through splashed water.

The bacteria is the most common cause of food poisoning, with four out of five cases due to contaminated chicken.

Around 280,000 people are affected each year in the UK, but despite this figure many have not heard of it.

"Although people tend to follow recommended practice when handling poultry, such as washing hands after touching raw chicken and making sure it is thoroughly cooked, our research has found that washing raw chicken is also common practice," said FSA chief executive Catherine Brown.

"That's why we're calling on people to stop washing raw chicken and also raising awareness of the risks of contracting campylobacter as a result of cross-contamination.

"Campylobacter is a serious issue. Not only can it cause severe illness and death, but it costs the economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year as a result of sickness absence and the burden on the NHS."

She said telling the public about the risks and how to avoid them is part of a bigger plan to tackle campylobacter that includes working with farmers and ­producers to cut rates of campylobacter in chickens and ensuring slaughterhouses and processors are taking steps to minimise the levels of contamination in birds,

Most campylobacter poisoning cases leave people with abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting, but it can kill, with under-fives and older people most at risk

It can also lead to longer-term conditions such as IBS, reactive arthritis and the nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome.

An FSA survey found 45 per cent of Scots washed chicken before cooking, believing the practice removes dirt or got rid of germs.

The survey found awareness of campylobacter is less than that of other forms of food poisoning.

More than 90 per cent of people in Scotland had heard of salmonella and E.coli, but only 30 per cent knew about campylobacter.

Lucy McKendrick, 30, from Carnoustie, Angus, suffered campylobacter poisoning last August. She said: "I suffered from diarrhoea, stomach cramps and hot and cold flushes for two weeks … The pain in my stomach was so intense that I knew it was more than just a tummy bug.

"I still have a sensitive stomach and my doctor suspects I have irritable bowel syndrome as a result. The whole experience has been awful and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I'm really careful now when I'm preparing food."