According to the National Institutes of Health, harmful bacteria are the most common cause of food poisoning. Bacteria can usually be identified on food, but can also sometimes be missed. Because bacteria are everywhere, complete prevention of food contamination is difficult to achieve. The best way to prevent food poisoning is by cooking food thoroughly. Food poisoning symptoms are usually similar to flu symptoms, and treatment usually consists of simply letting the condition run its course.
Identification
According to Professor Al Wagner at Texas A & M University, food and drinks can become discolored and smell bad if they are infected with bacteria. The packaging can puff out abnormally because of bacterial respiration. However, there are no warning signs of bacterial contamination in some cases. Check the expiration date on the packaging. "When in doubt, throw it out," Wagner advises.
Sources
Harmful bacteria can transfer to food literally from anywhere in the environment where the food is raised, harvested, processed, sold and eaten. Peter Snyder of the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management in St. Paul, Minnesota, states that harmful bacteria on food often originates from people handling the food without washing their hands or wearing gloves after defecating. It will grow on food that is stored and not eaten for a long time.
Prevention
Wagner and the National Institutes of Health recommend the following preventative steps: refrigerate your food; dispose of food that has aged beyond the expiration date; wash your hands with antibacterial soap before preparing and eating meals; thoroughly rinse fruits and vegetables; always cook meat or egg products that you are making yourself and only order fully cooked meat at restaurants; and check the label on the container of anything that you drink to be certain that it is pasteurized.
History
Before the advent of refrigeration, according to Cornell University, people used spices to preserve food. Although spices are not as necessary today as they were back then, they are still useful in killing bacteria as well as adding taste to food.
Pasteurization is the process of killing bacteria with a brief exposure to high heat. The method was was invented by nineteenth-century French scientist Louis Pasteur.
Symptoms
Your body will try to expel the harmful bacteria through vomiting and diarrhea, and will also attempt to kill the bacteria by raising your body temperature, causing a fever. The symptoms are about the same as what you would experience if you would have the flu. Although the symptoms seem bad, they are just your body's way of getting rid of the bacteria.
Treatment
According to the National Institutes of Health, the most important aspect of food poisoning that you need to worry about is dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea. Drink plenty of water or sports drinks. In most cases, the body will rid itself of the food poisoning on its own within two or three days. Food poisoning can be fatal in rare instances. Seek a doctor immediately if your symptoms become more serious or last longer than expected.
References
- NIH: Bacteria and Foodborne Illness
- Texas Agricultural Extension Service: Bacterial Food Poisoning
- Hi-Tm.com: A "Safe Hands" Hand Wash Program for Retail Food Operations
- Cornell University: Study: Antibacterial spices explain why some like it hot
- Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography: Pasteur, Louis (1822-1895)
Member Comments