Download Food Poisoning

FOOD POISONING
(c) PDST Home Economics
FOOD POISONING
• Food poisoning is caused by eating food containing
harmful substances.
• There are 3 types of food poisoning
• Chemical food poisoning: caused by chemicals such as
antibiotics or pesticides in the food.
• Biological food poisoning: caused by chemicals that
occur naturally in the food e.g. solanine in green
potatoes or toxins in red kidney beans.
• Bacterial food poisoning: caused by the presence of
pathogenic bacteria in the food.
SYMPTOMS OF FOOD
POISONING
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Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhoea
Fever
Headache
Loss of appetite
Very serious for infants, invalids, pregnant women
and elderly.
(H) BACTERIAL FOOD
POISONING
There are 2 types of bacterial food poisoning:
• 1. Toxic food poisoning
• 2. Infectious food poisoning
(H) 1. TOXIC FOOD
POISONING
• Some bacteria produce exotoxins as they grow in
food both before and after its eaten.
• Exotoxins are hard to destroy. Boiling for 30 mins is
required.
• Symptoms develop quickly- often within 2 hours
• Examples: staphylococci and clostridium botulinum
(H) 2. INFECTIOUS FOOD
POISONING
• Caused by eating food containing large numbers of
live pathogenic bacteria.
• These bacteria make endotoxins which are released
when they die.
• Endotoxins are easy to destroy. Proper cooking and
reheating will destroy both toxins and bacteria.
• If not destroyed symptoms will appear after approx.
12 hours
• Salmonella and listeria cause infectious food
poisoning.
(H) HIGH RISK FOODS
• Liquid protein foods are at high risk of contamination
• Milk, cream
• Eggs & egg dishes e.g. custard, mayonnaise
• Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish
• Meat pies, gravies, sauces, soups and stock
• Reheated dishes
(H) FOOD POISONING
BACTERIA
• Learn 3 common strains of food poisoning bacteria:
e.g.
Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria
monocytogenes.
• Habitat /Sources
• Factors affecting growth
• High risk foods
• Incubation period
• Toxic or infectious
• Symptoms
OTHER FOOD & WATER BORNE
DISEASES
• Here the food acts only as a means of transport for
the organism. They do not grow in it.
• Incubation longer.
• Only small number of organisms can cause illness.
• Organism enters bloodstream.
• Symptoms varied - may not include vomiting or
diarrhoea.