Environmental Public Health Division

Common Foodborne Illnesses

Disease: Staphylococcus (intoxication).

Foods: Cooked ham, meat, poultry, sauces, gravy, egg, and dairy products.

Symptoms: Sudden onset of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and dehydration.

Onset: 1 to 6 hours after eating

Prevention: Prompt refrigeration of foods, sanitary food handling. Food handlers with infected wounds or burns should not handle foods.

Disease: Botulism (intoxication)

Foods: Home canned foods, foods left out overnight such as baked potatoes in foil. Vacuum packaging.

Symptoms: Dry mouth double vision, difficulty focusing, trouble speaking, swallowing, breathing. Also nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea

Onset: 12 to 36 hours after eating.

Prevention: Do not use home-canned products, use careful time and temperature controls for all large and bulky foods. Do not use food from dented or damaged cans.

Disease: Clostridium Perfringens Enteris (infection)

Foods: Cooked meat products, poultry, gravy, stew, meat pies.

Symptoms: Diarrhea, stomach pains

Onset: 8 to 22 hours after eating

Prevention: Proper time and temperature control in cooling and reheating cooked meat, poultry, and bean dishes and products to 165° F. Reheat leftover foods to 165° F or above.

Disease: Salmonellosis (Infection)

Foods: Poultry and poultry salads, unpasteurized milk, raw eggs, ad unpasteurized egg products

Symptoms: Stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, and headache.

Onset: 6 to 72 hours

Prevention: Proper cooking temperatures of poultry, eggs and egg products. Prompt refrigeration of food. Hand washing before and after food preparation.

Disease: Shigellosis (Infection)

Foods: Potato, tuna, shrimp, turkey, macaroni salads, lettuce, moist and mixed foods.

Symptoms: Abdominal pains, diarrhea, fever, chills, vomiting.

Onset: 1 to 7 days after eating.

Prevention: Avoid cross-contamination, avoid fecal contamination from food handlers by practicing good personal hygiene, use sanitary food and water sources, control flies, cool foods rapidly

Disease: Hepatitis A (Infection)

Foods: Shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops) from polluted water.

Symptoms: Appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, and lethargy. Patient may develop jaundice with darkened urine.

Onset: 2 to 6 weeks after eating.

Prevention: Thoroughly cook shellfish. Wash hands after using bathroom

Disease: E. Coli 0157;H7 Enteritis Escherichia Coli (Infection)

Foods: Raw and undercooked ground beef, and other red meats, imported cheeses, unpasteurized milk.

Symptoms: Severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Onset: 1 to 4 days after eating.

Prevention: Cook ground beef thoroughly to (155° F) for 15 seconds, avoid cross-contamination, avoid fecal contamination from food handlers by practicing good personal hygiene.

Disease: Listeriosis-Monocytogenes.

Foods: Raw and processed meat, pate, raw seafood, coleslaw, soft cheese, unpasteurized milk and cheese made from it.

Symptoms: Fever, chills, headache, vomiting, meningitis, backache

Onset: 1 day to 3 weeks after eating.

Prevention: Avoid unpasteurized milk products. Thoroughly reheat frozen or refrigerated processed meat and poultry products.

Disease: Trichenella Spirallis

Foods: Raw or undercooked meats containing encysted larvae

Symptoms: Muscle soreness and pain

Prevention: Cook all pork to at least 145° F for 15 seconds.

Disease: Norovirus

Foods: clams, oysters, food handled by an infected person

Symptoms: fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache

Onset: 10-150 hours

Prevention: proper handwashing, cook raw shellfish