4.01 Foodborne Illness

What is a Pathogen?

A pathogen is a microscopic organism, like a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that causes disease. Not all bacteria is bad; there are lots of good bacteria that serve a purpose! The bacteria in your intestines, for example, helps digest your food. The bacteria in yogurt changes plain milk into a yummy treat. In this lesson, we aren’t going to focus on good bacteria; instead we will learn about the bacteria, viruses, molds, fungi and parasites carried by food that make you sick.

Pathogens can lurk anywhere. Counter tops, doorknobs, flush handles on toilets, unwashed hands of infected people, contaminated creeks and streams, soil and plants watered with the contaminated water, improperly stored food, and undercooked foods.

When pathogens are delivered through food sources, they are foodborne. This means the pathogen is growing and flourishing on some food item. These carriers are often foods like meat, fruit, and salad greens, but they can be anything!

A foodborne illness is commonly called food poisoning.

An important note here is that these organisms exist on all foods; our intestinal systems are equipped to handle these organisms in small amounts. It is when there are too many of these organisms that there is a problem; this when you get sick. Your foodborne illness can range from a little rumble in your tummy that goes away in a few minutes to conditions requiring hospitalization or even death.

Foodborne Illness Caused by Bacteria

Some harmful bacteria may already be present in foods when you buy them. Common raw foods like meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, eggs, unpasteurized milk and dairy products, and fresh produce often contain bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. Bacteria can contaminatemake impure or unusable by adding a harmful substance. food at any time during growth, harvesting or slaughter, processing, storage, and shipping.

Here is a list of the most commonly found foodborne illness caused by bacteria:

• Salmonella
• Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni)
• Shigella
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)
• Vibrio
• Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum)
• Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) - Also known as the Cafeteria Germ

Foodborne Illness Caused by Viruses

Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and contain genetic material that can infect people and animals. People pass viruses to one another through stools or vomit or not washing thoroughly after these events. Common source of foodborne viruses are foods picked, packed or cooked by an infected person, shellfish from contaminated waters, or produce irrigated by contaminated water.

Common Foodborne Viruses

• Norovirus
• Rotavirus
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis E

Signs, Symptoms and Prevention

Signs and Symptoms

Most foodborne illnesses are acute which means they happen suddenly, without warning and they often go away in a day or two. Rarely, the symptoms are more serious.

Common symptoms include:

• Sudden diarrhea, lasting 1-7 days
• Stomach cramps
• Nausea
• Fever
• Joint or back aches
• Unexplained fatigue

When people claim they have a stomach flu or a stomach virus, it usually is undiagnosed foodborne illness that resolve itself in a few days.

According to the CDC, 1 in 6 Americans – which is 48 million people! – gets sick a year from foodborne diseases. 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die annually.

Prevention

You will learn more about how to prevent foodborne illness in the next lesson but the important things to remember are:

• Clean- Wash your hands, wash your fruits and vegetables, rinse your meat, keep your counter tops clean, and wash the pots you cook in and the dishes you eat from.
• Separate- Keep meats separated from other foods, do not let the meat juices leak on to surfaces or other foods.
• Cook- Use a meat thermometer to tell you when the food is done. Cook all foods all the way through.
• Chill- If it is supposed to be cold, keep it cold!

Who is at Risk?

There are several populations of people at higher risk for suffering from a foodborne illness. These groups include

• children
• people who are already sick
• the elderly
• those with compromised immune systems

The reason that children can become sick more quickly is because their immune system is not fully developed enough to fight off large amounts of the pathogen.

For someone is who is already sick or has a weakened immune system, their immune system is already overloaded trying to fight off an illness; adding excessive food pathogens creates more work for the body to heal itself.

Elderly people have a similar problem. As we age, all our body systems grow a little less resilient; the intestinal system is no different. The greater the number of bacteria, molds, and viruses put in an elderly person's body, the greater the chance they may become sick from the same foods that may not have sickened them earlier in life.

Therefore, it is especially important to follow safety and cleaning procedures as you purchase, prepare, and store food safely when working with these people.