Beware of Bacteria Food Poisoning

 This is the most common type of food poisoning and it is caused by the presence in food of harmful bacteria or poisonous substances produced by them. Most bacteria food poisoning incidents occur as a result of unhygienic practice and this means that they are preventable. 

Some foods are categorized as high risk foods because they are particularly likely to become infected with pathogens and are intended to be eaten without further cooking and they are :

• Cooked meat and poultry

• Cooked meat product (pies, gravy, soups)

• Milk, cream, custards and diary product, artificial cream.

• Cooked rich

• Shell fish

• Cooked eggs and products

Bacteria food poisoning can be further divided into :

• Toxic food poisoning

• Infective food poisoning

Toxic food poisoning

Some bacteria produce toxins or poisons outside their cells when they are growing and multiplying in food, these toxins are known as exotoxins. Exotoxins are poisonous chemicals and are less easily destroy by heating than the bacteria from which they come thus if food is only heated sufficiently to kill the bacteria, the exotoxins may survive and still cause food poisoning when the food is eaten.

• Infective food poisoning

This is caused by eating food containing live bacteria in sufficient numbers to cause illness. Ineffective food poisoning bacteria produce toxins within their own cells. Such toxins called endotoxins are not as heat resistant as exotoxins. If infected food is heated to a temperature high enough to destroy the bacteria, endotoxins are also destroyed.