Foods Most Associated with Food Poisoning
Raw foods of animal original are the most likely candidatesfor contamination and cause of food poisoning (or "foodborneillness"). These foods include:
- Raw meat
- Poultry
- Eggs
- Shellfish, and
- Unpasteurized milk.
Foods that mingle the products of many individual animalsare particularly hazardous because a pathogen present in one animal maycontaminate the whole batch. Forinstance, a single hamburger may contain meat from hundreds of animals, or asingle restaurant omelet may contain eggs from hundreds of chickens.
While washing raw fruits and vegetables decreasescontamination, it does not eliminate it.Recent food poisoning outbreaks have shown that the quality of the waterused for washing and chilling produce after it is harvested is critical. Unclean water for washing, fresh manure forfertilization, as well as the consumption of some uncooked vegetables and unpasteurized fruit juices pose higher risks.
Toxins, such as pesticides inadvertently added to food ornaturally poisonous substances used to prepare meals, can also cause foodborne illness.For example, every year, people become ill after mistaking poisonousmushrooms for the safe species, or after eating poisonous reef fishes.