What is microbial food poisoning

I believe many people have never heard of the term microbial food poisoning. What is microbial food poisoning? What to do in case of microbial food poisoning? What are the causes of microbial food poisoning? What harm can microbial food poisoning cause to the body? Now, let’s find answers to everyone’s questions.

Food microorganisms that can be transmitted through food and cause human or animal diseases. It can come from soil, air, water, humans, plants and animals. When food raw materials contain such microorganisms, or when food is contaminated by such microorganisms during processing, storage, and sales, people who accidentally ingest them may suffer from food poisoning of varying degrees. The symptoms mostly include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., with an incubation period ranging from less than 1 hour to more than 48 hours. The patient is not directly contagious to others. The microorganisms that cause food poisoning mainly include bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc., with bacterial food poisoning being the most common.

There are seven main types of bacteria that cause food poisoning, and their incubation period and course of disease vary (see table). The scope and degree of food poisoning caused by the seven types of bacteria are closely related to the region and the living habits in that region. The first three types of bacteria in the table are common in many countries. Western Europe, North America and other countries mainly consume animal protein, so food poisoning caused by the toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum is more common. In Japan, food poisoning caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus is relatively common.

Fungi Some fungi can produce toxic metabolites during their growth process. Once these fungi contaminate food and produce mycotoxins in the food, they will poison the eater.

The fungi that cause food poisoning mainly include Aspergillus flavus, ergot, Penicillium tetraceum, and Gibberella zeae. Among them, aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus is the most harmful to humans.

Aspergillus flavus is often found in soil, animals and plants, and can grow on various nuts, especially peanuts. The aflatoxin on peanuts will easily grow and produce toxins if exposed to high temperature and high humidity. In addition, aflatoxin is often found in various foods such as soybeans, rice, corn, and pasta. Its harmfulness lies in its destructive effect on human and animal liver tissues. In severe cases, it can lead to liver cancer or even death. Aflatoxin is heat-resistant and can only be destroyed after being exposed to 100°C for a long time.

Viruses are large protein molecules that parasitize living cells. Viruses cannot multiply in food, so food only serves as a medium for the transmission of viruses. Viruses are brought into humans and animals through food, multiply in the body, and cause disease. There are two viruses that play an important role in food poisoning, namely infectious hepatitis virus and polio virus. The former can cause hepatitis, and the latter can cause polio.

After reading these introductions, do you think microbial food poisoning is terrible? Microbial food poisoning is not common in our daily life, but it does not mean it will not happen. If you are not careful, you may be the next one to be infected! Therefore, from now on, paying attention to food safety and food hygiene is an urgent issue for everyone, protecting yourself and your family from microbial food poisoning.