Question

Food poisoning

Hint:

Remember the 4 C's of food safety to prevent food poisoning: {C}lean (hands and surfaces), {C}ook (to the right temperature), {C}hill (refrigerate properly), and don't {C}ross-contaminate (keep raw and cooked foods separate).

Answer 1

Food poisoning, also called foodborne illness, is an illness caused by eating food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins produced by these microorganisms.
Causes: Common pathogens include bacteria like \textit{Salmonella}, \textit{E. coli}, and \textit{Listeria}, and viruses like Norovirus. Contamination can occur at any point during production, processing, storage, or preparation.

Symptoms: Symptoms can range from mild to severe and typically include nausea, vomiting, watery or bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever. The onset of symptoms can be within hours or days of consuming the contaminated food.

Prevention: Key prevention strategies include practicing good hygiene (washing hands and surfaces), cooking foods to safe temperatures, avoiding cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods, and refrigerating perishable foods promptly.