Mandarin oranges are a refreshing, sweet snack that can be enjoyed plain, in salads or as a part of a dessert. The enjoyable experience can come to a quick end if you develop stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting after eating mandarin oranges. It's uncommon for mandarin oranges to cause food poisoning, but it is possible if the fruit is contaminated with an infectious organism. Food poisoning symptoms can take from a few hours to up to three days to develop. Call your doctor at the first signs of digestive symptoms.
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning is a term used by the medical community to describe a food-borne illness. If the mandarin organs are contaminated with bacterium, a virus, parasite or toxin, you will develop symptoms of an illness. The food can become contaminated by improper washing, improper hand-washing, coming into contact with another surface that is infected or by consuming mandarin oranges that have sat out at room temperature for too long, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Food poisoning may also occur during the harvesting or manufacturing of the food product.
Symptoms
Symptoms can take a few hours or a few days to develop. Most symptoms form food poisoning develop suddenly, causing violent vomiting, diarrhea and severe cramping in the stomach. You may also develop nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fever and fatigue. MayoClinic.com recommends seeing your doctor if you notice blood in your vomit or stool, you cannot keep liquids down for one day, you develop severe diarrhea for more than three days, your body temperature is above 101.5 Fahrenheit or you develop symptoms of dehydration.
Prevention
Not all food poisoning is preventable, but certain measures can reduce your chances of becoming ill from food borne illness. Before handling the oranges, wash your hands, surfaces and utensils under hot and soapy water. Keep all other raw foods away from the oranges, such as meat, poultry and fish. If you have mandarin oranges that you are not going to use, refrigerate them as soon as possible in an air-tight container. If the oranges appear slimy, discolored or have a foul odor, do not consume them.
Complications
The most common complication form food poisoning is dehydration. Dehydration occurs when your body is depleted of excessive liquids from vomiting and diarrhea. Signs of dehydration include fatigue, extreme thirst, dry skin, dry lips, flushed skin and lightheadedness.
