Food, also known as food-borne illness, occurs when you eat or drink something that contains harmful germs. Sometimes germs produce a toxin in food, and it is exactly this toxin that poisons you. Infectious germs can contaminate food at any point of processing or production. Therefore, even when you are eating at home, if your food is not accurately dealed with, food poisoning will occur too.
Food poisoning is always resulted by all kinds of bacterias. Here is a list of possible bacterias that improperly handled food may contain:
| Contaminant |
Onset of symptoms |
Foods affected and means of transmission |
| Campylobacter |
2 to 5 days |
Meat and poultry. Contamination occurs during processing if animal feces contact meat surfaces. Other sources include unpasteurized milk and contaminated water. |
| Clostridium botulinum |
12 to 72 hours |
Home-canned foods with low acidity, improperly canned commercial foods, smoked or salted fish, potatoes baked in aluminum foil, and other foods kept at warm temperatures for too long. |
| Clostridium perfringens |
8 to 16 hours |
Meats, stews and gravies. Commonly spread when serving dishes don't keep food hot enough or food is chilled too slowly. |
| Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 |
1 to 8 days |
Beef contaminated with feces during slaughter. Spread mainly by undercooked ground beef. Other sources include unpasteurized milk and apple cider, alfalfa sprouts, and contaminated water. |
| Giardia lamblia |
1 to 2 weeks |
Raw, ready-to-eat produce and contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler. |
| Hepatitis A |
28 days |
Raw, ready-to-eat produce and shellfish from contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler. |
| Listeria |
9 to 48 hours |
Hot dogs, luncheon meats, unpasteurized milk and cheeses, and unwashed raw produce. Can be spread through contaminated soil and water. |
| Noroviruses (Norwalk-like viruses) |
12 to 48 hours |
Raw, ready-to-eat produce and shellfish from contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler. |
| Rotavirus |
1 to 3 days |
Raw, ready-to-eat produce. Can be spread by an infected food handler. |
| Salmonella |
1 to 3 days |
Raw or contaminated meat, poultry, milk, or egg yolks. Survives inadequate cooking. Can be spread by knives, cutting surfaces or an infected food handler. |
| Shigella |
24 to 48 hours |
Seafood and raw, ready-to-eat produce. Can be spread by an infected food handler. |
| Staphylococcus aureus |
1 to 6 hours |
Meats and prepared salads, cream sauces, and cream-filled pastries. Can be spread by hand contact, coughing and sneezing. |
| Vibrio vulnificus |
1 to 7 days |
Raw oysters and raw or undercooked mussels, clams, and whole scallops. Can be spread through contaminated seawater. |
