Food Borne Illnesses

Cheeseburger with pickles and onions on a plate

Rain Rannu/Flickr

I love cooking on a grill. I cook hot dogs, fish, vegetables and hamburgers. Once, when I cooked a hot dog and a burger for myself on a springtime evening, I was sick within 30 minutes of eating the burger. I had to go to the ER, where the doctor told me about food borne illnesses. Here’s what I learned:

A foodborne illness is a disease that is transmitted to people by food. Most foodborne illnesses are caused by microorganisms. These organisms are tiny forms of life that are so small you cannot see them with the naked eye. You can’t taste them or smell them. They include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Bacteria are the biggest threat to food safety. Once bacterial begin to grow on food, it’s like a rapid chain reaction. If someone eats food that is contaminated, they can develop an illness. Foods that allow microorganisms to grow are called “potentially hazardous” foods. They include foods high in protein, neutral or slightly acidic, and ones high in moisture.

Factors that cause food to become unsafe are: time-temperature abuse; cross-continuation; poor personal hygiene; and improper cleaning and sanitizing. The biggest cause of foodborne illnesses is poor personal hygiene. People, who don’t wash their hands properly or often enough, are the biggest risks to food safety.

I am writing this because too many people don’t know about these facts.


Issues |Health, Physical

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