The Most Unwanted: Food

Poisoning

The Most Unwanted: Food

Poisoning

E-ColiE-Coli

Food Sources Associated with E-Coli

Food Sources Associated with E-Coli

• Beef, raw and undercooked

• Unpasteurized apple juice or cider

• Unpasteurized (raw) milk and (raw) milk products, such as raw milk cheese

• Untreated drinking water

• Contaminated raw fruit and vegetables that are not cooked (including alfalfa and bean sprouts)

SymptomsSymptoms• Severe stomach cramps

• Diarrhea

• Vomiting

• Nausea

• Headache

• Fever

• Starts within 3 to 4 days but can occur up to 10 days later

• Lasts from 5 to 10 days

How Can You Get Sick ?How Can You Get Sick ?• By eating or drinking food or beverages

contaminated with E. Coli

• Unpasteurized (raw) milk and (raw) milk products

◦ Untreated water

• Through contact with:

◦ Cattle or other farm animals

◦ the feces of infected people

• Through cross-contamination between raw meat and other food when you are preparing food

Potential Health ImpactsPotential Health Impacts

• Up to 15% of children infected

• Develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)…(kidney failure and blood disorder)

• Most recover within a few weeks

• Some suffer permanent kidney and other organ damage and complications, or may die.

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment

•Most cases of E. coli contamination are passed from person to person, therefore, good personal hygiene is critical to protecting yourself

•Drink water from a supply known to be safe. If you have a private well, it should be tested several times a year

•In most cases, symptoms clear up on their own within five to 10 days. The use of antibiotics is not recommended because the bacteria creates a toxin in its cell and if you kill the cell with antibiotics the toxin gets released into the bloodstream

Salmonella Salmonella

Food Sources Associated with Salmonella

Food Sources Associated with Salmonella

Cracked eggs

Uncooked chicken

Fresh produce (fruits and vegetables)

SymptomsSymptoms

• Vomiting

• Feeling tired

• Diarrhea

• Cramps

•Starts in as little as 30 minutes – 6 hours

• Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces

• Contaminated foods usually look and smell normal

• Food may also become contaminated by the unwashed hands of an infected food handler, who forgot to wash his or her hands with soap after using the bathroom

• Thorough cooking kills Salmonella

How Can You Get Sick ?

How Can You Get Sick ?

Potential Health ImpactsPotential Health Impacts• Salmonella poisoning will

usually only cause a brief illness

• Severe dehydration may result in the need for hospitalization

• Young, elderly and those with weak immune symptoms are MOST likely to have severe illness

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment

•Cook poultry, ground beef, and eggs thoroughly

•Do not eat or drink foods containing raw eggs, or raw (unpasteurized) milk

•If you are served undercooked meat, poultry or eggs in a restaurant, don't hesitate to send it back to the kitchen for further cooking

•Wash hands, kitchen work surfaces, and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry.

Staphylococcus(Staph Infection) Staphylococcus

(Staph Infection)

Food Sources Associated with Staph

Food Sources Associated with Staph

• Meats

• Egg products

• Salads such as egg, tuna, chicken, potato, and macaroni

• Bakery products such as cream-filled pastries, cream pies, and chocolate eclairs

• Sandwich fillings

• Milk and dairy products

SymptomsSymptoms

•Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Lasts 1-2 days

• Sets in 2-8 hours after eating

• Spread by someone handling food, at warm temps it produces a poison

• Found on skin, in boils, zits and throat infections

• Spread through open wounds in the skin

• Food handlers with open wounds should wear gloves

How Can You Get Sick ?

How Can You Get Sick ?

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment•It is important to prevent the contamination of food with Staphylococcus before the toxin can be produced.

•Wash hands and under fingernails vigorously with soap and water before handling and preparing food.

•Do not prepare food if you have a nose or eye infection

•Do not prepare or serve food for others if you have wounds or skin infections on your hands or wrists

•Keep kitchens and food-serving areas clean and sanitized

•If food is to be stored longer than two hours, keep hot foods hot (over 140°F) and cold foods cold (40°F or under).

•Store cooked food in a wide, shallow container and refrigerate as soon as possible.

ListeriaListeria

Food Sources Associated with Listeria

Food Sources Associated with Listeria

• Canned and raw seafood

• Fruits

• Refrigerated foods

• Preserved and smoked meats

• Root vegetables

SymptomsSymptoms

•Flu-like symptoms

•Fever

•Body aches

•Vomiting

•Can lead to Meningitis or Septisis

• Contamination can occur at any point in the farming, distribution, and food preparation process.

• Listeria is different from other bacteria that cause food poisoning because it can survive and continue to grow even when in the refrigerator

• Foods contaminated with listeria look, smell, and taste normal

• Listeria can be killed by proper cooking methods

How Can You Get Sick ?

How Can You Get Sick ?

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment•Rinse raw produce, such as fruits and vegetables, thoroughly under running tap water before eating, cutting, or cooking. Even if the produce will be peeled, it should still be washed first

• Scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush

•Listeria usually treats itself and disappears within seven days

(Clostridium) Perfringens

(Clostridium) Perfringens

Food Sources Associated with

Perfringens

Food Sources Associated with

Perfringens

•Beef

•Poultry

•Gravies

SymptomsSymptoms

•Sets in 8-24 hours after eating

•Diarrhea and gas pains ending in less than a day

•Badly affects the elderly and people with ulcers

• Known as the buffet germ

• Outbreaks usually occur in institutions such as schools, hospitals and nursing homes

• Spreads rapidly in large portions of food cooling slowly

• Food that is left to sit for a long period of time in the Danger Zone

How Can You Get Sick ?

How Can You Get Sick ?

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment•Thoroughly cook foods, particularly meat, poultry, and gravies, to a safe internal temperature

•Use a food thermometer

•Keep food hot after cooking

•Microwave reheated food thoroughly

•Refrigerate perishable foods within two hours (at 40˚F or below)

•Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate immediately. Do not let them cool on the counter

BotulismBotulism

Food Sources Associated with Botulism

Food Sources Associated with Botulism

• Home-canned low-acid food that has been processed improperly (I.e. garlic, green beans, mushrooms)

• Smoked, salted and fermented fish

• Fermented marine mammal meat, for example whale, walrus, seal

• Baked potatoes stored in aluminium foil

SymptomsSymptoms• Nausea

• Diarrhea

• Fatigue

• Blurred vision

• Difficulty speaking and swallowing

• Paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk, and breathing muscles (starts in arms and moves down)

• Start within 12 to 36 hours after eating or drinking food containing the bacteria

• Last from 2 hours to 14 days

• Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria that can form toxins

• By eating or drinking food or beverages contaminated with Clostridium botulinum toxin

• Through home-canned food that is

◦ processed improperly

◦ low-acid

How Can You Get Sick ?

How Can You Get Sick ?

Potential Health ImpactsPotential Health Impacts

• Illness is rare in Canada, but it can be severe

• Most people can recover if diagnosed and treated promptly

• Recovery can take several weeks - years.

• Severe botulism can lead to paralysis and respiratory failure

• If not diagnosed and treated, death from respiratory failure can happen within 3 to 10 days

Prevention/TreatmentPrevention/Treatment• Treatment must occur in a hospital

• An anti-toxin is used to stop the spread of toxins through the body

• Botulism can be prevented by proper canning techniques and not eating foods found in rusty or dented cans

• Infants under one year of age should not be fed honey