That was the fate of a celebration in the Victorian bayside suburb of Portsea on Christmas Day.

What should have been a typical Australian Christmas in the sun turned into a nightmare when as many as 34 guests started suffering nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

One guest, a 38-year-old man, spent three hours in hospital on Christmas night and paramedics treated 12 others at the party, which had been catered by guests.

But health experts say the horrific ordeal could have been avoided had basic food safety precautions been taken.

Dr Thomas Razga, an emergency medicine specialist, sees cases of food poisoning every day at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

"Everyday we would have multiple patients coming in with either infectious gastroenteritis or, particularly around this party season, anything from mild to quite severe cases of food poisoning from poorly prepared and stored food," he said.

Dr Razga said in some cases food poisoning could even become life-threatening.

So before you prepare the vol-au-vents for your New Year's Eve party, here are five vital tips to avoid a catering disaster.

Keep it hot or keep it cool

Food poisoning bacteria grow best in temperatures between between four and 60 degrees.

Dr Razga said it is important to keep cooked food outside of this range to avoiding a bacteria outbreak.

"Basically, having food warm for an extended period of time is a really healthy environment for bacteria to multiply in," he said.

"Not only do they multiply, but so do toxic substances potentially made by those bacteria, and that can make people very sick very quickly."

He said any food that had been cooked and then cooled needed to be thoroughly reheated, and that any cooked food that was going to be eaten cold should be kept refrigerated.

Separate your cooked and uncooked foods

"Always isolate your raw ingredients from your cooked ingredients, so your raw ingredients aren't getting contaminated by the raw stuff," Dr Razga said.

"Don't chop your chicken up and then use the same chopping board and knife to slice up your salad, because you're going to have a whole lot of raw chicken contaminating the fresh ingredients."

Wash your hands

When food poisoning is caused by an infectious bacteria or virus, washing your hands with warm, soapy water is vital to avoid it spreading between people.

"I hate to think that someone would go to the toilet and then go and prepare the chicken for dinner," Dr Razga said.

"But it's important to wash your hands before and after handling food, particularly raw food like chicken and seafood."

Be smart at the market

The Victorian Department of Health recommends buying hot and cold foods at the end of your shopping trip and keeping them separate on your way home.

Make sure the hot food is steaming hot and don't buy frozen or chilled food that has been left out of the fridge or freezer.

The department also recommends to make sure the person serving you is wearing gloves when handling food – but not when cleaning or handling money – and uses separate tongs for different food types.

Avoid food that is past its use-by date and avoid food in swollen or damaged cans or containers.

Never buy cracked or dirty eggs and make sure they are cooked until they are hot all the way through.

And if I get sick?

While most bouts of food poisoning will pass without medical treatment, it is important to stop it from spreading further.

"It depends how unwell they feel … in mild cases, it's easily treated with pain killers and plenty of fluids so you don't get dehydrated," he said.

"But if they can't look after themselves, then they really should seek medical help."

Dr Razga said any food that may have caused the illness should be thrown out, and in cases of bacterial or viral illness, those affected should wash their hands thoroughly to avoid passing it to others.