Food Poisoning

FOOD POISONING

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Introduction

Food poisoning refers to an acute illness that occurs as the result of eating food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites and mycotoxins. The most common types of food poisoning are campylobacter enteritis, cholera, salmonellosis and shigellosis. Notably, the most prevalent causes of food poisoning are bacteria of genus Clostridium, Staphylococcus and Escherichia types. Food poisoning germs enter into the human system after ingesting meat, water and vegetables. Some common causes of food poisoning are; poor handling of the food, usage of dirty utensils, taking refrigerated dairy products refrigerated for long times, eating raw oysters and fish and feeding on poorly washed raw fruits and vegetables. Typical symptoms associated with food poisoning are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea (MediResource Clinical Team. 2012, p. 12). Therefore, this paper will address the leading factors that cause food poisoning, the role played by awareness and measure capable of reducing the incidences of food poisoning among communities

How Bacteria get into the Food

Bacteria get into food through infected water or other food substances. Specifically, 40% of water used in irrigation has infected animal feces. These animal feces act as a vehicle through which human beings become infected, and subsequent transfer to food materials. In addition, improper handling of infected food materials results to more infections.

When the bacteria enter into food substance, it reproduces leading to the generation of toxins. However, their reproduction depends on the availability of optimum growth conditions such as PH, moisture and temperature. Ingestion of these toxins through contaminated food interferes with the digestive system hence food poisoning (Arvanitoyannis, 2009, p. 121).

Types of Food Poisoning

Microorganism | Source | Symptoms | Incubation period |

E. Coli O157:H7 | Fruits, vegetables, beef |...