What Causes Food Poisoning?

During warmer months, you’ll likely eat outside, host the occasional BBQ, and dine out more often. However, the warm weather creates a perfect environment for germs contaminating food. Outdoor temperatures have been consistently record-breaking and hot, requiring extra care to keep food at safe temperatures to prevent food poisoning. Unsafe food handling can multiply harmful germs, and higher temperatures can increase the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Harmful germs can infiltrate your food in various ways: poor handling, lack of proper cooking, or contamination. Keep your family and loved ones from food poisoning by cooking food thoroughly, storing food properly, keeping your food prep areas clean, and being extremely cautious with food from outside restaurants and vendors.

What Is Food Poisoning?

When you consume infected food, the harmful germs can multiply in your digestive system and cause severe food poisoning. Your body’s alarm center recognizes the germs as toxins that can grow and reach your stomach and intestines. While most cases of food poisoning are mild and resolve in their own time, some can be much more serious, especially for particularly vulnerable groups of people.

Common Causes of Food Poisoning

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that every year 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne illnesses (cdc.gov). Different types of germs that cause food poisoning. These germs can be bacteria, parasites, or viruses, all of which are usually not detectable by taste and are too small to see:

Bacteria

Bacteria are single-cell organisms that are on the surfaces of everything; however, some are helpful, and some can cause infections and sickness if they get into our food sources.

• Listeria can hide in certain foods and mainly makes its way into raw milk and sliced deli meats. The onset after exposure can be anywhere between a few hours and a few days. Listeria can make people sick, especially if they’re pregnant, elderly, or have weakened immune systems. Fever, nausea, a stiff neck, severe headaches, and seizures are symptoms associated with infection. In extreme cases, pregnant women can have a miscarriage or a stillbirth. To eliminate the likelihood of listeria, cooking food at appropriate temperatures can kill this bacteria and keep you safe.
• E. coli is a tiny germ that likes to live in dirty food and water. The germ enters its host through infected water or food or when people are in contact with other infected people or animals. This germ can be spread from person to person if good hygiene is not practiced. E. coli is prevalent in farms, restaurants, food service factories, daycares, swimming pools, and nursing homes. You can find E. coli in meat that’s not cooked enough, vegetables that have not been washed, and milk or juices that have not been cared for properly. The onset of symptoms after exposure is typically three to four days. Severe infections can cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and sepsis. Some types of E. coli can make toxins that might cause your kidneys to stop working, cause kidney disease, and even lead to death.
• Salmonella thrives around raw chicken, eggs, and raw meat. You can also get it from contact with certain animals or contaminated foods. The onset of infection is typically six hours to six days after exposure. Symptoms of food poisoning can include stomach flu symptoms, high fever, and bloody diarrhea. Rehydration and consuming electrolytes usually help you feel better, and antibiotics may be needed, depending on the case.
• Clostridium Botulinum (Botulism) can make little seeds known as “spores,” which hide in food and survive even when you cook it. The germ grows best when food is left at room temperature for long periods. Meats, stews, and gravies are common places that botulism likes to inhabit, and if you are its unfortunate victim, you are likely to experience intense stomach aches and possible diarrhea.

Parasites

Parasites are small organisms that live in or on other living things, like people or animals, and take nutrients from their hosts, sometimes causing illness.

• Giardia is a parasite that can be found in contaminated water. Infected water can be ingested directly or by contaminating other foods it has touched. The onset of infectious symptoms is typically one to three weeks after exposure. Giardia can cause stomach cramps, nausea, bloating, diarrhea, and, in extreme cases, severe dehydration.
• Toxoplasma is often found in undercooked meat, contaminated water, or soil. Symptoms usually present themselves one to three weeks after exposure. The most common symptoms, including fatigue, lightheadedness, muscle aches, and fever, may be minimal. It can be especially harmful to pregnant women, causing birth defects or miscarriage, and to people with weakened immune systems, leading to intense eye infections or brain damage.

Viruses

Norovirus is sometimes called winter vomiting disease (wikipedia.org). When the digestive system gets infected and inflamed, it causes gastroenteritis, making people more likely to vomit and have diarrhea. Norovirus is very easy to catch from other people who have it or from touching things they’ve touched. This germ thrives in busy places with lots of people — it can live on things like tables and doorknobs for a long time, making it easy to spread. Outbreaks are common in high-traffic spaces, including schools, nursing homes, cruises, and planes. Quarantining or being extremely careful to keep your distance is recommended; you can still be an active host and spread the germs weeks after recovering.

How Food Becomes Contaminated

Food becomes contaminated in a variety of ways that give rise to pathogens. Common sources of germs occur due to:

• Poor hygiene, for example, is when someone doesn’t wash their hands before handling food.
• Dirty surface areas that are used without being cleaned. Common repeat offenders are dirty countertops or cutting boards.
• Dirty utensils that haven’t been cleaned properly and are used as-is.
• Uncared for raw meat that has not been stored separately.
• Dirty water used to drink, wash food, bathe in, or cook with.
• Consuming the meat, milk, or eggs of neglected sick animals.

What are high-risk foods?

• Unpasteurized milk
• Unpasteurized cheese
• Undercooked meat
• Hot dogs
• Dry sausages
• Smoked seafood
• Undercooked shellfish
• Uncooked eggs
• Soft cheeses
• Salads
• Raw vegetables
• Raw sprouts
• Perishable foods
• Contaminated water

Food Poisoning Prevention

To help in avoiding food poisoning, cleanliness, and food safety are key. Here are some steps to help mitigate exposure or contamination:

1) Wash your hands with soap and water frequently, especially before working with food.
2) Cleaning your surface areas and utensils.
3) Cooking meat, chicken, fish, and eggs thoroughly.
4) Avoid cross-contaminations and practice food safety by separating raw meat, poultry, and seafood from one another.
5) Refrigerate foods that can spoil promptly.
6) Rinsing fruits and vegetables clean before using them.
7) Eliminating unpasteurized products like raw milk and raw dairy products from your diet.

What to Do if You’ve Suffered Food Poisoning

If you get food poisoning, rest and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Your body will try to get rid of the germs by making you vomit, have diarrhea, and feel stomach pain or cramps. You might also get a fever as your body fights the infection. Keep an eye on your symptoms; if you start feeling worse, you must see your healthcare provider. Young children, older adults, pregnant women, or people with weak immune systems should always see a doctor because food poisoning can become more severe for them. Don’t wait too long to get help if needed—early treatment can make a big difference.

If you have suffered harm from negligent food handling, call the food poisoning lawyers at Regan Zambri Long for a free case review.