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Foodborne disease: A disease caused by consuming contaminated food or drink. Myriad microbes and toxic substances can contaminate foods. There are more than 250 known foodborne diseases. The majority are infectious and are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and colloquially referred to as food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the food spoilage of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as toxins such as poisonous mushrooms and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.
Causes
Foodborne disease usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or food storage. Good hygiene practices before, during, and after food preparation can reduce the chances of contracting an illness. There is a consensus in the public health community that regular hand-washing is one of the most effective defenses against the spread of foodborne illness. The action of monitoring food to ensure that it will not cause foodborne illness is known as food safety.
Foodborne disease can also be caused by a large variety of toxins that affect the environment.
Furthermore, foodborne illness can be caused by pesticides or medicines in food and natural toxic substances such as poisonous mushrooms or reef fish.
Bacteria
Bacteria are a common cause of foodborne illness. In the United Kingdom during 2000, the individual bacteria involved were the following: Campylobacter jejuni 77.3%, Salmonella 20.9%, Escherichia coli O157:H7 1.4%, and all others less than 0.56%.
Most common bacterial foodborne pathogens are:
- Campylobacter jejuni which can lead to secondary Guillain–Barré syndrome and periodontitis
- Clostridium perfringens, the “cafeteria germ”
- Salmonella spp. – its S. typhimurium infection is caused by consumption of eggs or poultry that are not adequately cooked or by other interactive human-animal pathogens Salmonella
- Escherichia coli O157: H7 enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) which can cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome.
Viruses
Viral infections make up perhaps one-third of cases of food poisoning in developed countries. In the US, more than 50% of cases are viral and noroviruses are the most common foodborne illness, causing 57% of outbreaks in 2004. Foodborne viral infection are usually of intermediate (1–3 days) incubation period, causing illnesses which are self-limited in otherwise healthy individuals; they are similar to the bacterial forms described above.
- Enterovirus
- Hepatitis A is distinguished from other viral causes by its prolonged (2–6 week) incubation period and its ability to spread beyond the stomach and intestines into the liver. It often results in jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, but rarely leads to chronic liver dysfunction. The virus has been found to cause infection due to the consumption of fresh-cut produce which has fecal contamination.
- Hepatitis E
- Norovirus
- Rotavirus
Parasites
Most foodborne parasites are zoonoses.
- Platyhelminthes:
- Diphyllobothrium sp.
- Nanophyetus sp.
- Taenia saginata
- Taenia solium
- Fasciola hepatica
- Nematode:
- Anisakis sp.
- Ascaris lumbricoides
- Eustrongylides sp.
- Trichinella spiralis
- Trichuris trichiura
- Protozoa:
- Acanthamoeba and other free-living amoebae
- Cryptosporidium parvum
- Cyclospora cayetanensis
- Entamoeba histolytica
- Giardia lamblia
Natural toxins
Several foods can naturally contain toxins, many of which are not produced by bacteria. Plants, in particular, may be toxic; animals which are naturally poisonous to eat are rare. In evolutionary terms, animals can escape being eaten by fleeing; plants can use only passive defences such as poisons and distasteful substances, for example, capsaicin in chilli peppers and pungent sulfur compounds in garlic and onions. Most animal poisons are not synthesised by the animal but acquired by eating poisonous plants to which the animal is immune, or by bacterial action.
- Alkaloids
- Ciguatera poisoning
- Grayanotoxin (honey intoxication)
- Mushroom toxins
- Phytohaemagglutinin (red kidney bean poisoning; destroyed by boiling)
- Pyrrolizidine alkaloids
Read Next
A. Types (Infections and intoxications)
B. Common diseases caused by foodborne pathogens