How does bacteria cause food poisoning?
1 Answer
Explanation:
Generally food poisoning results from contamination of food and the subsequent growth of food poisoning microorganisms. Many bacterial causes of food poisoning can be found in undercooked meats, poultry, eggs, dairy, processed meats, fish, custards, cream pies and contaminated water. In addition to diseases caused by direct bacterial infections, some food borne illnesses are caused by bacterial enterotoxins. These are toxins released by the bacteria that target the intestines. Enterotoxins can produce illness even when the microbes that produce them have been killed.
The rare but potentially deadly botulism occurs when the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium boltulinum grows in improperly canned low acid foods and produces botulin - a paralytic toxin.
Contamination can occur anywhere along the process of obtaining and eating food - during growing, harvesting, processing, storing or preparation stages. Clean food can be contaminated by bacteria from four main sources :-
1) people involved in the handling of food.
2) contact or mixing with already contaminated food.
3) contaminated work premises and equipment.
4) insect or vermin carriers of pathogen.
Prevention mainly consists of good food safety practices. Many forms of bacterial poisoning can be prevented by cooking it sufficiently and either eating it immediately or refrigerating it effectively. However, many toxins are not destroyed by heat treatment.
Bacteria that usually cause food poisoning are Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, etc.
