Food Poisoning

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 things.  This would be called an outbreak.

The known causes of food poisoning can be divided into 2 categories:

infective agents include viruses, bacteria and parasites.

toxic agents include poisonous mushrooms, improperly prepared exotic foods such as barracuda or pesticides on fruits and vegetables.

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.