How to avoid food poisoning
Anjitha
Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. Toxins of Infectious organisms like bacteria, viruses, and parasites are the major causes of food poisoning. There are two kinds of problems that might arise from eating unhealthy food.
Organisms enter the food item and produce toxins in it. If a person eats this, symptoms start immediately. In the second case, bacteria might start functioning inside the body after someone eats the food. In this case, the symptoms start around 12 hours after eating.
Food poisoning symptoms vary with the source of contamination. Most types of food poisoning cause symptoms and signs
- Nausea
- Fever (fever higher than 38.9°C)
- Vomiting
- Watery or bloody diarrhea
- Abdominal pain and cramps
Cause
Contamination of food can happen by preparing, producing, harvesting, processing, storing, shipping, or the transfer of harmful organisms from one surface to another. This is especially troublesome for raw, fast foods, such as salads or other produce. Because these foods aren’t cooked, harmful organisms aren’t destroyed before eating and can cause food poisoning.
Many bacterial, viral, or parasitic agents cause food poisoning. There are more than 250 specific types of food poisoning. Some of the most common causes include:
Clostridium botulinum is transmitted through 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.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) -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.
Salmonella-Raw or contaminated meat, poultry, milk, or egg yolks. Survives inadequate cooking. Can be spread by knives, cutting surfaces or an infected food handler.
Clostridium perfringens-Meats, stews and gravies. Commonly spread when serving dishes don’t keep food hot enough or food is chilled too slowly. Many other infectious agents are caused by food poisoning.
Risk factors and complications
Prevention
Wash your hands, work surfaces, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops before preparing food. Germs can survive in many places around your kitchen.
Avoid contamination of raw meats and eggs. Meat products may contain germs that will be destroyed when cooked at proper temperatures. These germs transfer to something that won’t be cooked, they may survive and contaminate that food item.
Cook meats and fish thoroughly to the proper temperatures to kill germs.
Freeze prepared foods within two hours of cooking to keep bacteria from breeding. If foods contain sauces, gravy, mayonnaise, or creams, then make sure they have held at proper temperatures while still serving them.Keep hot foods hot (60°C) and cold foods cold (4°C). You should make sure your fridge is set at a temperature of 4°C or less.
Check your refrigerated foods for microbe growth such as mold. check expiration dates of dairy products or that have a bad smell.
Avoid unpasteurized milk and fruit juices from the shops. Pasteurized foods have been through a process that kills germs.
The public health departments can make an effort to control food poisoning by informing citizens of possible outbreaks.
Treatments
Treatment for food poisoning is normally based on the source of the illness and the severity of your symptoms. For most people, the illness resolves within a few days without treatment. Some types of food poisoning may last longer.
Replacement of the fluid and using antibiotics are the main treatments.
Through diarrhoea or vomiting lost minerals such as sodium, potassium, and calcium to maintain the balance of fluids in your body and replace the fluids through veins.
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