Food poisoning, also called food borne illness, is a gastrointestinal disorder most commonly caused by eating food which has been contaminated by bacteria, viruses or parasites. These organisms can infect food at any point during processing or production. You can contaminate food at home by improper handling, incorrect cooking methods or inadequate storage. The severity of food borne illness depends on your own age and health, the particular organism ingested and the amount of exposure. Food poisoning is a serious, potentially fatal, possibility when food preparation is negligent.
Some common causes of food poisoning:
- Unsanitary processing conditions
- Unsanitary cooking conditions
- Improperly cooked food
Tips to avoid contamination when preparing food at home:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially before and after you eat or prepare food. For example, if you’ve been making hamburger patties, you can get bad bacteria from the raw meat on your hands. If you then touch another person’s hand without washing your hands first you will pass the bad bacteria on to that person. Do not touch raw meats and then tear lettuce or touch other foods that will be consumed raw.
- Make sure food is thoroughly cooked. Meat should have no pink parts or pink juices. Cut into the center of a hamburger or piece of chicken to make sure it is okay. Eggs shouldn’t have runny yolks.
- Cover and refrigerate food right away if you’re not ready to eat it. Never leave anything out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours.
- Look at and smell what you are eating. If something looks or smells differently than it normally does throw it away. Any mold is also a sign that food has spoiled. Do not cut or tear off the mold thinking it is then okay. Mold spores have tentacle like extensions that spread out before they show on the surface.
- Be sure to reheat leftovers. If some bacteria managed to grow while food was in the refrigerator, properly reheating the food until it is steaming should kill most bacteria and keep you from getting sick.
- Use by the expiration date on the package. Some dates are “sell by” dates which means the food should leave the shelves by that time, however, other expiration dates are to let you know when the food is no longer safe to eat. Check to be sure which type of date is on your label and follow it.
Tips to avoid contamination when eating out:
1.) Check out the inside of the restaurant.
- Signs of possible unsanitary cooking conditions are dirty floors, counters and tables, unsanitary restrooms, full or overflowing trash containers, unpleasant odors.
- You may also want to note whether employees have clean hands, fingernails and uniforms, or whether their hair is in hair nets or pinned back, or whether there are unprepared or refrigerated foodstuffs lying out. These should be a warning.
- Does the person who takes money and makes change also prepare/touch the food?
2.) Wash your own hands well before touching food.
3.) Eat food while it is hot. Once food cools it provides prime conditions for bacteria to grow. If you cannot eat for a half hour or more, re-heat the food to above 160 degrees.
Symptoms of food poisoning include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Watery diarrhea
- Abdominal pain or stomach cramps
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Fever
Symptoms vary according to the organism causing the illness and can begin within hours of ingestion or days later. Symptoms can last from one to ten days and may or may not require medical attention.
You should seek prompt medical attention if you experience any of the following:
- Frequent vomiting lasting two days or more
- Vomiting blood
- Inability to keep liquids down for 24 hours
- Severe diarrhea lasting more than three days
- Blood in your bowel movements
- Severe abdominal pain or stomach cramping
- An oral temperature of higher than 101.5 Fahrenheit
- Excessive thirst, dry mouth, little or no urination, or — severe weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness, any of which could indicate dehydration
For more information on food poisoning, treatment, testing and possible complications go to www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-poisoning/DS00981 or www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/food-poisoning.
Clicking on the above web sites will only take you to www.mayoclinic.com and www.webmd.com respectively. In order to directly access the pages on food poisoning you should type in the entire web address.
