is usually described as any disease of an infectious or toxic caused by the consumption of food or drink. It has been recognized throughout the age. Changing lifestyles in the modern world have resulted in an increased demand for ready-to-eat foods, fast foods and dining out. Food poisoning bacteria do not affect the taste, smell, or seen by naked eye. It is usually affect the very young, the elderly, and the weak person. The symptoms usually are diarrhea and vomiting caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites.
However these change in demand have caused more problems with food poisoning. This essay explains the causes of food poisoning, the types of bacteria that cause food poisoning, diseases, and ways how to prevent it. There are several causes of food poisoning. Most cases of food poisoning occur in household. They are caused by unsatisfactory cleanliness kitchen, bathrooms, toilet facilities, and refrigerators. The standard of cleanliness, personal as well domestic.
Therefore effects food poisoning in Australia probably one of the highest in the world, and the incident of food poisoning is high and increasing” (Zenner, H, 1995). Food poisoning also can cause by shaking hands or by kissing from one person to another. Beside that, dirty food premises or equipment can caused food poisoning. The most important cause of food poisoning pests, such as flies.
These can feed on unwrapped waste and vomit the meal on to food in the kitchen. They may also carry substance of infected materials on their feet from the waste-bins to food. There are others insects, particularly the cockroach, which can also carry food poisoning bacteria from place to place. They had pick up the bacteria from the contaminated environment. It is thought that if contaminated wash water from sinks that are used for washing hands or clothing is splashed on to the surrounding floor and pipes. Cockroaches walking over these areas will pick up bacteria on their feet and bodies.
However, cockroaches are less likely to contain infection than flies, because they breed in walls, cracks and paper, rather than use rubbish and manure heaps. Likewise, wasps, bees, spiders and similar creatures, because of their different breeding grounds, are unlikely to carry harmful bacteria and compared with flies. Their habits are less unhygienic. So, we must prevent the access of flies in particular into the premises and food storage areas. There are about 20 organisms that can cause food poisoning however; there are only three that will be discussed in this essay. First, botulism is caused by the organism clostridium botulinum, a spore-forming bacterium.
Spores release a toxin that causes the illness. Botulism spores can become dangerous when they produced a toxin in an oxygen-free environment of low acidity. The spores are highly resistant to heat and survive boiling and higher temperatures. “The toxin is sensitive to heat and in pure form is destroyed by boiling. Nevertheless it can be protected when mixed with protein and other material in food” (Hobbs and Roberts, 1993). “Botulism may result from eating improperly processed, low acid foods such as green beans, mushrooms, spinach, olives and beef or fish.
Improper home canning and improper processed commercial products can also cause botulism” (Safety Information, 1999). Second, E. coli 0517: H 7 is one of the bacteria that produces a powerful toxin. “This toxin has actually caused an estimated 25, 000 cases of food poisoning each year in the United States.” It is actually caused undercooked and contaminated ground beef.
This organism actually lives inside the healthy beef’s intestines actually lives this organism. Meat can be contaminated during slaughter when intestinal fecal matter is mixed with beef that is ground into hamburger (Hobbs, B. C, 1993, page 21). The dangerous part is the smell of the food that has been contaminated is normal and makes it difficult to know whether the food can be eaten or not.
The milking machine or bacteria on the udders of the cow can also contaminate raw milk. The last bacteria causing food poisoning are salmonellae. These bacteria are classified into more than 2000 serotypes able to invade and infect the body of human and animals. They reach food directly or indirectly from animal excreta at time of slaughter, from human excreta, or water polluted by sewage (Hobbs, B. C, 1993, page 23).
In the kitchen they may be transferred from raw to cooked foods by hands, surfaces, utensils and other equipment. “Illness is more likely to occur when large numbers of organisms are ingested, after multiplication in food allowed standing at atmospheric temperature for some hours. The illness usually lasts for two days but salmonellae continue much longer in the faeces” (Hobbs and Roberts, 1993, page 25). Sometimes salmonellae may cause abscesses years later. To avoid any harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning, it is very important to take precautions. First, food poisoning can be prevented by washing hands and fingernails before touching any food.
Second, thorough washing of all equipment before or after using and cooking food is necessary. Next, raw food has to be stored below cooked foods in the refrigerator. Besides that, food has to be served as soon as it is cooked. Finally, different testing spoons must be provided for different food (Hobbs, B. C. , 1993, page 68, 69).
In order to prevent the growth of harmful organisms, it is recommended that proper canning method are used when canning food, food should be bought fresh and in small quantities, canned food that has a damaged container should not be purchased or used, suspicious smelling a looking food should not be tasted, and raw foods must be thoroughly cooked (Hill ers, V. , 1999). There are a few simple recommendations that maybe used to avoid food poisoning because precautions are better than preventions. In other words, food poisoning is very dangerous for human and animals. There are many organisms that can cause food poisoning. So, if people are not careful while handling raw foods or cooked foods, bacteria will easily grow and cause damage to humans.
The food preparation environments need to be kept clean and staff handling foods should practice good personal hygiene. Some bacteria can even cause death for those who are not careful and also for those who leave it too late to get treatment. Therefore, Government should stringent the law to prevent food poisoning by checking regularly at every restaurant. By that way, we can reduced the percentage of food poisoning.