Millions of bacteria live with us. Most of them are harmless (some live inside our bodies), and beneficial to us like Lactobacillus or LAB bacteria. However, 1% of the bacterial population make us sick. Among this 1% are the 7 most common disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella Spp, Eschericha coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, and Campylobacteria jejeuni.
These have caused millions of food-poisoning around the world yearly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States alone, around 48 million people get sick, 128,000 get hospitalized, and 3000 die from food-borne illnesses.
Typical symptoms of food poisoning include fever, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Although people who fall ill recover from illness, some who are vulnerable (the young and old), would die from such poisoning. Pathogenic bacteria are mainly responsible for these food poisoning occurrences. Pathogenic bacteria, along with viruses, and parasites, fall under the biological hazards, one of the three recognized food safety hazards in the food industry. In any HACCP system, there should be zero tolerance to such hazard.
Table of Contents
Salmonella Spp. or Salmonella
Salmonella Spp. is a gram-negative, rod-shaped facultative anaerobic bacterium. As part of the genus Salmonella, it has caused the most number of reported outbreaks in the United States every year. Cases of patients that do no see a doctor doesn’t count too in this figure!
The most usual symptoms that may last up to 7 days include nausea, chest pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Severe illnesses may happen to very young patients, the orderly, and those with weak immune system.
Most cases of salmonellosis come from consuming contaminated meat, poultry and egg. Salmonella infection come from feces or waste from the animal. The is why an egg with a cracked shell isn’t advisable for consumption. Also, do not consume eggs raw unless they are pasteurized.
Eschericha coli 0157:H7
Most strains of Eschericha coli are harmless to humans. In fact, some live normally in the human intestinal tract without making us sick. However, some do us harm, including Eschericha coli 0157:H7. Eschericha coli 0157:H7 is a gram-negative, and rod-shaped bacterium,. This E. coli strain causes millions of food-poisoning cases yearly.
Most outbreaks by this strain result from eating undercooked or raw meat products, usually ground meat. Infection usually happens during slaughtering where animal wastes are present. Contaminated kitchen utensils, and surfaces that are used during food preparation are also causes of fecal contamination. Cases of E. Coli food poisoning have also been reported from consuming dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.
When one suffers from E. Coli food poisoning, he may experience fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Most cases reported the patients to experience bloody diarrhea. These symptoms usually last up to 10 days. As of this writing, there is no treatment for this type of food poisoning (antibiotics do not work either).
Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria Monocytogenes or Listeria is a gram-positive, and rod-shaped bacterium. Listeria Monocytogenes causes listeria, which targets the nervous system . Most patients experience fever, loss of balance, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle pain. These symptoms usually are experience for hours or days and last up to several weeks.
Since this bacterium can withstand low temperature, it usually infects food items stored in the refrigerator. Freezing food items only slows down the movement of microorganisms, but not destroy them. Reheat food, especially ready-to-eat ones like hot dogs and deli meat to kill any harmful bacteria.
Read more food safety tips regarding your refrigerator.
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium perfringens is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, and spore-forming bacterium. Its ability to create spores enable it to withstand many food processes. Most food-poisoning cases caused by this bacterium resulted from consuming poultry, meat, gravy and sauces, and pre-cooked foods. Most food associated with C. perfringens food poisoning are prepared in batches. And usually, they are kept for a considerable long time before serving. These cases usually happen at the cafe, hotels, restaurants, buffets, and cafeterias. Reheating food is must for these kinds of setting especially before serving. Refrigeration for leftover food is a must to slow down bacterial growth,
C. Perfringens food poisoning cause vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. These symptoms last up to 24 hours.
Clostridium botulinum
Clostridium botulinum is another gram-positive, rod-shaped, and anaerobic spore-forming bacterium known for producing the neurotoxin botulinum. The botulinum toxin is one of the most poisonous toxin known. Unlike most bacteria, Clostridium Botulinum does not need oxygen in order to grow. It is why this bacterium can live happily in food products deprived of oxygen like home-canned goods. The Botulinum toxins are found in various food items like fruits, vegetables, and meat products.
Botulism-contaminated home-canned goods usually occur due to improper processing. One should invest in a suitable pressure canner to do home canning properly. A pressure canner that cannot reach the required pressure will only turn the food into a breeding ground for bacteria.
Remember that Botulism is a potentially-fatal illness. At first, the patient will feel nausea, vomiting, weakness, dizziness a few hours after ingesting the contaminated food. Then the attack on the body’s nervous system will follow: double/blurred vision, trouble breathing, fatigue, dry mouth and throat, and lack of muscle coordination. Most deaths from botulism result from respiratory failure as part of complication. Patients who feel difficulty in breathing may need mechanical ventilation for months to a year.
You might also like: Home Canning: How To Tell If Food Has Gone Bad?
Check out this comprehensive post about this bacterium from FDA.
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive, and round-shaped bacterium. This bacterium is usually associated with meat products, dairy products, and baked goods.
Remember that foods contaminated with Staphylococcus Aureus do not manifest signs of spoilage like foul odor or discoloration. Never place food in an environment with temperature inside the Danger Zone. The Danger Zone is anywhere from 40 °F (4 °C) to 140 °F (60 °C), the range where the growth of bacteria doubles in number in 20 minutes time.
The usual symptoms of Staphylococcal Food Poisoning include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, headache, muscle and chest pain. These symptoms usually develop quickly and last for a day. Patients need to drink as much water as possible to hydrate from diarrhea. Rarely, patients develop severe illness and poisoning clears out on its own with 1 to 2 days.
Campylobacteria jejeuni
Campylobacteria Jejeuni is a gram-negative, and spirally-curve bacterium. This bacterium causes millions of food-borne illnesses in the U.S., New Zealand, and in Europe. Campylobacteria Jejeuni normally lives in the intestines of several animals like cattle, swine, rodents, birds, and shellfish. The typical symptoms of the disease include nausea, diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, headache, and vomiting. Most people would recover from Campylobacteriosis on their own. However, some, especially the very young ones and the elderly with low immunity would need medical treatment.
Most Campylobacteriosis (the disease caused by this bacterium) occur from consuming raw or undercooked meat. Transmission of Campylobacteria is more common during slaughtering of the animal where animal feces is present. Slaughter houses train workers and food handlers to prevent any forms of contamination. Nonetheless, as an end user, the consumer must thoroughly cook the meat to kill any harmful bacteria.
How To Prevent These Disease-Causing Bacteria
These pathogenic bacteria are harmful to everyone. But these are easily avoided if everyone follows a routine that prevents bacteria from multiplying.
Always keep everything clean before and after. Clean all cooking utensils, appliances, food contact surfaces, etc. to prevent cross- contamination. Before handling food items, thoroughly clean the hands with soap and water.
Prevent cross-contamination. Separate raw food from cooked. If placed together, the bacteria from the raw can contaminate the cooked. Implement this for food inside your refrigerator as well. Have a dedicated container for each food. The ready-to-eat, and cooked should at the top shelves and the raw food like meat at the bottom shelf. This prevents blood or juices from dripping to another food.
Cook food at a proper temperature. As a guide, cook food at at least 165°F (74°C) or higher. It is better to invest in a food thermometer.
Keep food properly. Cold food should stay cold and hot food should stay hot. Store cold food at 40°F (4.4°C) or below and hot food at 140°F (60°C) or higher. Never store food anywhere in the Temperature Danger Zone 40 °F(4.4°C) and 140 °F (60°C). It is where bacteria doubles in number very quickly.
Check out this post to Know The Factors That Affect Growth of Harmful Microorganisms.
