Food Safety Borne

Food-Borne Illness

Food-borne illness or food-borne disease is most commonly known as food poisoning. A person can acquired the illness by drinking or eating any food that has been contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 1 out of 6 people get contaminated every day, which makes food-borne illness occurring in the United States every year to an estimated 48 million cases. According to an online journal definition, pathogens are “a microorganism that causes, or can cause, disease” (BMC Bio, 2012). Bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Botulism and E. Coli are just a few of such microorganisms. Every year 325,000 people are hospitalized due to food-borne illness and 5,000 people have died from contracting it. Some symptoms include fever, diarrhea, dehydration, upset stomach, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Most cases of food-borne illnesses can be treated by simply increasing a person’s intake due to dehydration either orally or through I.V. depending on the severity of the case. In more severe cases a person may have to be hospitalized and monitored to make sure that their fluid intake is balanced, that they are receiving the proper nutrients in their body and to also make sure that their blood pressure is regulated.

There are a number of ways in which food-borne illnesses can be prevented. The most important is to make sure that food is properly cooked to kill off bacteria. Also it is very important that once food is prepared that you refrigerate it as soon as possible and don’t leave it out for a long period of time. Bacteria can spread not only from food but from utensils, counter tops, sponges, cutting boards that have come in contact with raw meat and poultry. This is called cross-contamination. To prevent this keep uncooked food away from other foods that have already been cooked. The most important way to prevent foodborne illnesses from occurring is to wash your hands. This is the especially the case before...