by The Cool Cook

Created on: April 28, 2008

Food-borne illnesses are caused by microbes and their toxins. These come in the form of both bacteria and viruses, some of which will be familiar to you. They have one thing in common, given the right conditions they can kill us.

It's also true that we can kill them, but to do that we need to understand who they are and what they get up to. In the battle for supremacy as far as kitchen hygiene goes, it pays to know your enemy.

Campylobacter
If you have a bug in your kitchen (and you have) this is it. I'm grateful to the UK's FoodLink organization for the following quote:

"Campylobacter is a microbe that causes food poisoning. It can be found in raw poultry and meat, unpasteurised milk, and untreated water. Pasteurised milk can be contaminated by birds pecking bottle tops on the doorstep. Pets with diarrhoea can also be a source of infection. Campylobacter is the most common identified cause of food poisoning."

Notice in particular the reference to raw meat and poultry. I doubt you eat much of that in the course of a year, do you? The problem is that, unless you are a vegetarian, you handle it, store it in the fridge and prepare it on your work surfaces.

The difficulty is that you don't need a whole lot of this baby to give you problems such as fever, headache, stomach pain and the runs. It also has a nasty habit of recurring just when you thought you'd got rid of it. It can take up to 10 days to make itself known, which is worth bearing in mind the next time you get struck by that mystery' bug. It is destroyed by thorough cooking at temperatures over 63C,145F.

Salmonella
Okay vegetarians, this is where you get yours!

You see, Sal gets about and his turf includes raw, unwashed vegetables as well as all the usual haunts of campylobacter. That's because he lives in the gut and droppings of animals as well as humans, so anything that grows in the great outdoors is likely to get contaminated. He's also one tough cookie. You need to be aware of two things about him that are important.

The first is that refrigeration does not kill him (although it does stop him reproducing), and the second is that it takes thorough cooking to finish him off. Take him seriously. He's a killer.

His symptoms such as fever, headache, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea usually develop within 48 hours and can last up to three weeks. This is one mean guest that you need to evict as quickly as possible. Because he will show up some time and that's a fact.

Staphylococcus aureus
Big name for such a little

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