"Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such as aflatoxins..."
Caused by contaminated food or water, such as salmonella and E.coli infections.
Microorganisms: Understanding the various microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
Sources of contamination: Knowing the different sources from which food can be contaminated, including animals, soil, water, and humans.
Food handling and preparation: Understanding the importance of proper food handling and preparation techniques to prevent contamination.
Food preservation and storage: Learning about different methods of food preservation and storage that can prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms.
Symptoms and diagnosis: Understanding the symptoms of different foodborne illnesses and how to identify them, as well as knowing the diagnostic methods that are used to confirm the presence of a specific illness.
Epidemiology: Understanding how foodborne illnesses are transmitted and their prevalence in different populations, through epidemiological studies.
Outbreak investigations: Knowing the role of public health officials in investigating and controlling foodborne illness outbreaks, including methods for traceback and source identification.
Risk assessment: Understanding the principles of risk assessment and how they are applied to food safety, including risk assessments for specific foods or pathogens.
Food safety regulations: Understanding local and national food safety regulations and their role in preventing and controlling foodborne illness outbreaks.
Industry practices: Knowing the food safety practices used by the food industry, including food safety management systems and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.
Prevention and control: Learning about strategies used to prevent and control foodborne illnesses, including education, surveillance, and intervention.
International perspectives: Understanding the global impact of foodborne illnesses and the role of international organizations in preventing and controlling these diseases.
Emerging threats: Knowing the current and emerging threats to food safety, including emerging pathogens and globally distributed foods.
Salmonella: A bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Listeria: An infection caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. It can cause fever, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
E. coli: A bacterial infection that can cause severe diarrhea and abdominal pain, especially in children and older adults.
Norovirus: A highly contagious virus that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.
Campylobacter: A bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever.
Hepatitis A: A viral infection that affects the liver and can cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Botulism: A rare but potentially deadly bacterial infection that can cause paralysis and respiratory failure.
Vibrio: A bacterial infection that can be contracted by eating contaminated seafood and cause symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Shigella: A bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Clostridium perfringens: A bacterial infection that can cause severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
"...pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions, and toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts, poisonous mushrooms, and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes."
"Symptoms vary depending on the cause but often include vomiting, fever, and aches, and may include diarrhea."
"...because even if infected food was eliminated from the stomach in the first bout, microbes, like bacteria (if applicable), can pass through the stomach into the intestine and begin to multiply."
"Some types of microbes stay in the intestine."
"Symptoms may not manifest for hours to days, depending on the cause and on the quantity of consumption."
"Longer incubation periods tend to cause those affected to not associate the symptoms with the item consumed, so they may misattribute the symptoms to gastroenteritis, for example."