**Causes:**
– Foodborne illness arises from improper handling, preparation, or food storage.
– Good hygiene practices can reduce the chances of contracting an illness.
– Regular hand-washing is an effective defense against the spread of foodborne illness.
– Monitoring food to ensure safety is known as food safety.
– Foodborne disease can be caused by a variety of toxins and chemicals.
**Bacteria:**
– Campylobacter jejuni accounts for 77.3% of bacterial foodborne illnesses.
– Salmonella is involved in 20.9% of cases.
– Escherichia coli O157:H7 contributes to 1.4% of bacterial foodborne illnesses.
– Other bacteria collectively account for less than 0.56% of cases.
– Toxins from bacterial infections can have delayed effects.
**Viruses:**
– Norovirus is a significant viral cause of foodborne illness.
– Viral infections can have rapid onset of symptoms.
– Proper cooking and hygiene practices are essential to prevent viral contamination.
– Symptoms of viral foodborne illness include vomiting and diarrhea.
– Viruses can be present in contaminated water or food.
**Parasites:**
– Parasites like Toxoplasma gondii can cause foodborne illness.
– Raw or undercooked meat is a common source of parasite contamination.
– Proper sanitation and cooking methods can help prevent parasitic infections.
– Symptoms of parasitic foodborne illness may include fever and muscle aches.
– Parasites can survive in the environment and infect food sources.
**Prevention:**
– Proper food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to prevent foodborne illness.
– Regular hand-washing before, during, and after food preparation is crucial.
– Monitoring food safety practices can help reduce the risk of contamination.
– Avoiding cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods is important.
– Educating individuals about safe food practices can help prevent outbreaks.
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts, poisonous mushrooms, and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.
Symptoms vary depending on the cause. They often include vomiting, fever, and aches, and may include diarrhea. Bouts of vomiting can be repeated with an extended delay in between. This is because even if infected food was eliminated from the stomach in the first bout, microbes, like bacteria (if applicable), can pass through the stomach into the intestine and begin to multiply. Some types of microbes stay in the intestine.
For contaminants requiring an incubation period, symptoms may not manifest for hours to days, depending on the cause and on the quantity of consumption. Longer incubation periods tend to cause those affected to not associate the symptoms with the item consumed, so they may misattribute the symptoms to gastroenteritis, for example.