Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

Contamination that causes food poisoning can
occur at every level of the food production process
Some examples follow.

Growers: application of illegal pesticides and herbi-
cides or their application higher than approved con-
centrations. In the United States, pesticides use is
regulated by the United States Department of Agri-
culture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).

Processors: use of contaminated water in processing,
inadequate disinfecting of processing equipment,
inadequate time and temperature in processing
canned or cooked foods, contamination with poisons
used to control factory pests, and improper handling

of raw materials. In the United States, meatpacking

plants are inspected by the USDA, and other food

processing plants are inspected by the United States

Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Storage and transportation: holding fresh or frozen

foods at improper temperatures, inappropriate use

of fumigants in warehouses or trucks, inadequate

sanitizing of food-carrying tanker trucks (e.g. milk,

corn syrup), and contamination by insects or rodent

droppings in storage areas

Retail outlets and restaurants: food kept at improper

temperatures, cross-contamination between raw and

cooked food, improper disinfecting of food prepara-

tion surfaces, transmission by infected food handlers,

Microorganisms responsible for common food-borne illness

Incubation

0.5–15 hours

2–5 days

18–36 hours

8–24 hours

12–72 hours

Unknown; may

range from a

few days to 3

weeks

12–72 hours

12–48 hours

1–12 hours

15–50 days

12–48 hours

1–2 weeks

1–2 days

Symptoms

Watery diarrhea and cramps, or

nausea and vomiting

Diarrhea, perhaps accompanied by fever,

abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and

muscle pain

Lethargy, weakness, dizziness, double

vision, difficulty speaking, swallowing,

and/or breathing; paralysis; possible death

Intense abdominal cramps, diarrhea

Watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps,

low-grade fever, nausea, malaise

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; may progress to

headache, confusion, loss of balance and

convulsions; may cause spontaneous abortion

Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, headache

Fever, abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhea

Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping

Jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, anorexia,

intermittent nausea, diarrhea

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps

Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea

Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, fever,

abdominal cramps

Microorganism

Bacillus cereus

Campylobacter

jejuni

Clostridium

botulinum

Clostridium

perfringens

Escherichia coli

group

Listeria

Monocytogenes

Salmonella species

Shigella

Staphylococcus

aureus

Hepatitis A

Norwalk-type

viruses

Giardia lamblia

Trichinella

spiralis

Food-borne

illness

Intoxication

Infection

Intoxication

Infection

Infection

Infection

Infection

Infection

Intoxication

Infection

Infection

Infection

Infection

Common food

sources

Cooked product that is left uncovered

—milk, meats, vegetables, fish, rice,

and starchy foods

Raw chicken, other foods contaminated

by raw chicken, unpasteurized milk,

untreated water

Inadequately processed, home-canned

foods; sausages; seafood products;

chopped bottled garlic; honey

Meats, meat products, gravy, Tex-Mex

type foods, other protein-rich foods

Contaminated water, undercooked ground

beef, unpasteurized apple juice and cider,

raw milk, alfalfa sprouts, cut melons

Ready-to-eat foods contaminated with

bacteria, including raw milk, cheeses, ice

cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw

sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw

meats, and raw and smoked fish

Foods of animal origin; other foods

contaminated through contact with feces,

raw animal products, or infected food

handlers. Poultry, eggs, raw milk, meats

are frequently contaminated.

Fecally contaminated foods

Foods contaminated by improper handling

and holding temperatures—meats and meat

products, poultry and egg products, protein-

based salads, sandwich fillings, cream-

based bakery products

Raw or undercooked molluscan shellfish or

foods prepared by infected handlers

Shellfish grown in fecally contaminated water;

water and foods that have come into contact

with contaminated water

Water and foods that have come into contact

with contaminated water

Raw and undercooked pork and wild game

products

(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)

Food poisoning