Abstract
Food borne illnesses are defined by the world health organization as diseases of infectious or toxic nature caused by consumption of contaminated foods or water. Food borne illnesses are classified in to two broad groups namely intoxication and infection. Intoxication is caused by ingestion of toxin produced by pathogens, while infection is caused by ingestion of food containing viable pathogens. Toxin can be present even when the bacteria or other causative agents are not and it is possible to develop food intoxication by eating animals that have consumed toxin producing organisms. Onset of illness is very rapid with food intoxication and people become very sick. The main causes of food borne illness are bacteria which constitutes 66% of the problems. Botulism, Clostridium perfringen gastro enteritis, E. coli infection, Salmonellosis and staphylococcal food poisoning are the major food illness caused by bacteria. Microorganisms present in food will grow under favorable conditions and will produce toxin in food. Following ingestion, toxins are absorbed through gastro intestinal epithelial lining and cause local tissue damage. In some cases toxins are translocated to distant organs or tissues such as kidney, liver, central nervous system or peripheral system where they can cause damage. The most common clinical symptoms of food borne illnesses are diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, headache and nausea. Food borne illnesses are usually diagnosed based on patient’s history and the symptoms. Food borne illness prevention system will depend on the extent of food safety control in place through food production, processing and distribution keeping food clean, separation of raw and cooked, and cooking thoroughly, keeping food at safe temperature and using safe water and raw materials are some of the important points especially for safety of food of humans. The high level of bacteria which could cause food borne illness in various foods presents public health risk to the consumer. This suggests the need to implement strict hygienic control measures along the food chain to improve the hygienic conditions during manufacturing, handling, storage and commercialization of foods.
Highlights
Food poisoning syndrome results from ingestion of water and wide variety of food contaminated with pathogenic organisms, their toxin and chemicals
Sorbitol Mcconkey agar is recommended for isolation of E. coli O157:H7 from food and feces samples
The true incidence of bacterial food borne illnesses are unknown for a number of reasons, including poor responses from victims during interviews with health officials, misdiagnosis of the illness, inadequate collection of samples for laboratory analysis and improper laboratory examination
Summary
Food poisoning syndrome results from ingestion of water and wide variety of food contaminated with pathogenic organisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi), their toxin and chemicals. The two most common types of food borne illness are intoxication and infection. Intoxication occurs when toxin produced by the pathogens cause food poisoning, while infection is caused by the ingestion of food containing pathogens [1,2]. The symptoms of food borne illness often resemble intestinal fluke and they may last a few hours or several days.
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