Food Borne Illness

Although the food supply in the United States remains one of the safest in the world, the CDC, Centers for Disease Control estimates that every year more than 300,000 Americans are hospitalized, and 5,000 die from food borne illness. Preventing food borne illness and death remains a major public health challenge.

A food borne illness is any illness caused by the ingestion of food. Although the term food poisoning is frequently used, most food borne illnesses are not in fact the result of toxins, chemicals or poisons created by the food itself, but are caused by one of several kinds of microorganisms present in the food. The commonest causes of food borne illnesses are bacteria, including Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, and Shigella. Some bacteria secrete toxins as they grow; for example the Clostridiumbacteria secretes botulin toxin, which can be fatal.

In a food borne illness, symptoms may start within hours of eating the food, or they be delayed as much as three days. Symptoms vary with different microorganisms, and can include one or more of these: nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, fever, headache or fatigue.

Babies and small children, pregnant women and their fetuses, the elderly, people who are chronically ill, and others whose immune systems are compromised are at greatest risk.. In most cases there is a period of acute illness, then a recovery as the body rids itself of the toxic agent.

Escherichia coli, or E. coli for short, is a common bacterium found widely in soil, and normally in human and animal intestinal tracts. There are hundreds of different varieties of E. coli, most which are harmless, but some varieties can cause serious illness. Certain strains of E. coli can cause severe diarrhea and also infect the genital and urinary tracts.

• In September 2006 a widespread outbreak of E. coli infection in raw spinach led to over 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths across the country. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to buy or eat raw spinach from any source. California's Department of Health Services and the US Food and Drug Administration worked cooperatively in the investigation. In their joint final report they successfully identified the environmental risk factors and the areas that were most likely involved in the outbreak, but they were unable to definitely determine how the contamination occurred.

In 2007, several recalls of ground beef products have occurred, in which the beef was contaminated with E. coli. An outbreak also occurred among students at an elementary school.

More than half of US food borne illnesses are viral. Most food borne viral infections have an incubation period of 1-3 days before the victim experiences symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those listed for bacterial infections. In healthy individuals, a food borne viral illness is self-limiting; as the body rids itself of the infected food and the viral particles, the symptoms abate.

Some food borne illnesses have more far-reaching effects, causing long-term health problems or even death. food borne illness is a major cause of reactive arthritis, a painful inflammation of the joints or other tissues. Its onset is 1-3 weeks after the initial event, and it may persist for up to a year.

Other infectious agents in food include mycotoxins, produced by such fungal agents as Aspergillum, found in tree nuts, peanuts, and corn and cotton seeds; Ergot, which infects grains, and Fusarium, which infects corn, are all fungal toxins. There is still much to be learned about food borne illness. For about sixty percent of all outbreaks of food borne illnesses the source of the infection cannot be identified.

Food Borne Illness Claim

Many people do not realise how easy it is to contract poisoning if they are not careful. Although most restaurants and cafes are very careful in preparing food for their customers, some fail the hygiene test causing their customers to contract the bacteria. Some of the cases of food poisoning can vary from being relatively minor to being quite serious.

Food poisoning usually occurs after we eat or drink something that is infected with bacteria. Bacterial poisoning usually occurs when the food has not been heated, stored, or cooked properly. In addition, it can be caused by bad hygiene on the part of the chefs preparing the food. Failing to do simple things like washing hands or using clean utensils can all contribute towards causing food poisoning.

Avoiding E-Coli poisoning

E-Coli poisoning is found in the lower intestines of healthy mammals. Once this bacteria is transferred to food it can cause food poisoning if ingested. Washing your hands and cooking food thoroughly is essential in stopping this from happening. It is also important to wash your hands after touching the food so that the bacteria is not transferred to other food through touch.

Salmonella

Salmonella is usually found in meat and poultry, eggs, and unpasteurised milk. It can also be found in untreated water and seafood. Similar to avoiding e-coli poisoning, it is important to heat food thoroughly. This is especially the case with meat. It is also necessary to wash hands thoroughly after handling the food to avoid transferring the bacteria to other food.

It is important you take these steps as once contracted, salmonella food poisoning is particularly hard to get rid of and has the potential of causing serious long-term health problems. The elderly are especially vulnerable as are the ones with a history of health problems.

Food Poisoning Claim

If you suspect that your food poisoning was caused as a result of another person's negligence, then you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim. Contact a personal injury attorney at our law firm for a confidential, honest review of your case.

If you wish to make a claim, then you will need to provide us with supporting documents to help your claim. These can include any medical reports from your doctors and relevant receipts from the supermarket or restaurant at issue.