Food poisoning comes from eating foods that contain germs like bad bacteria or toxins, which are poisonous substances. Bacteria are all around us, so mild cases of food poisoning are common. You may have had mild food poisoning — with diarrhea and an upset stomach — but your mom or dad just called it a stomach bug or stomach virus.
Food poisoning is a common, usually mild, but sometimes deadly illness. Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea that come on suddenly (within 48 hours) of consuming a contaminated food or drink. Depending on the contaminant, fever and chills, bloody stools, dehydration, and nervous system damage may follow. These symptoms may affect one person or a group of people who ate the same thing (this would be called an outbreak).
More than 200 known diseases can be transmitted through food. Those are just the ones we know about. The CDC estimates unknown or undiscovered agents cause 81% of all food–borne illnesses and related hospitalizations. Many cases of food poisoning are not reported because people suffer mild symptoms and recover quickly. Also, doctors do not test for a cause in every suspected case because it does not change the treatment or the outcome.
Causes of Food Poisoning
Food usually becomes contaminated from poor sanitation or preparation. Food handlers who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom or have infections themselves often cause contamination. Improperly packaged food stored at the wrong temperature also promotes contamination.
B. cereus is found in dust, soil and spices. It can survive normal cooking as a heat-resistant spore, and then produce a large number of cells if the storage temperature is incorrect. Starchy foods such as rice, macaroni and potato dishes are most often involved. The spores may be present on raw foods, and their ability to survive high cooking temperatures requires that cooked foods be served hot or cooled rapidly to prevent the growth of this bacteria.
Salmonella Bacteria: Between 7-10 percent of the population develop the disease Salmonellas every year from eating eggs, chicken or turkey that are infected with Salmonella Bacteria. Typical symptoms include vomiting, mild fever and severe diarrhea that may be blood stained. The symptoms of Salmonella poisoning usually begin 12-72 hours after eating the contaminated food and last for 1-3 days.
When food is cooked and left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, bacteria can multiply quickly. Most bacteria grow undetected because they do not produce an "off" odor or change the color or texture of the food. Freezing food slows or stops bacteria's growth but does not destroy the bacteria. The microbes can become reactivated when the food is thawed. Refrigeration may slow the growth of some bacteria, but thorough cooking is needed to destroy the bacteria.
Botulinum is an anaerobic bacterium, which means it can only live where there is no oxygen. The most common source of botulism is home canned foods that have not been heated sufficiently before canning, or that have been heated at a heat that is too low. However, botulism has also been caused by commercially canned foods. Infant botulism has been linked to honey.
Escherichia Coli Bacteria: Certain types of E.coli can contaminate meat and water, producing toxins of varying potency. Types of E.coli are usually responsible for causing the type of diarrhea usually experienced by travelers. However, some types of E.coli may cause a severe illness because they produce a more dangerous type of toxin that can damage blood cells and lead to kidney (renal) failure.
