by Chef Eric J. Means

Created on: April 28, 2008

Food borne illness is the most prevalent health issue on the planet today. Many factors contribute to foodborne illness. Minimization of the risk of food poisoning is the name of the game. It is interesting to note that most food poisoning does not occur in restaurants, but through poor sanitation and a lack of safe conditions in the home.

Bacteria are the most common cause of foodborne illness. Bacteria need a specific environment to grow in, which is to say the conditions that promote prodigious growth. These factors are as follows.

Food
Acidity
Temperature
Time
Oxygen
Moisture

The acronym is FATTOM this may help you to remember the major factors of foodborne illness.

FOOD: is the catalyst or a protein rich environment that bacteria will live and thrive in.

ACITIDY: Most bacteria live in low or neutral acidity environments. For instance a food that is high in acidity i.e. salsa, some tomato sauces have a high PH level and are thus more likely to prohibit growth of bacteria.

TEMPERATURE: The safe zones for food products is under 41 degrees F and over 140 degrees F. The DANGER ZONE is in between 70-139 degrees F.

TIME: The amount of time that food is within the danger zone is a critical factor.

OXYEGEN: Most bacteria need oxygen to grow. This is not always true as pathogens such as spores may grow in the absence of oxygen and cannot be killed through cooking.

MOISTURE: Just like we humans need water to live so does the microbiological world.

The two factors that we can control are time and temperature. We can do this by reducing the time that food is within the danger zone 70-139 degrees F. Ensure that all hot food is cooked to temperature. Leftovers must be reheated to 165 degrees. To simplify things keep hot food hot and cold food cold.

There are 3 classifications of Foodborne illness. Keep in mind that the temperature of your body is 98.6 degrees F, this temperature is well with in the danger zone, as your body is not hot enough to kill bacteria it provides a fantastic environment for rapid growth.

Foodborne infections
Foodborne intoxications
Foodborne toxin mediated infections

FOODBORNE INFECTION: Is caused by the consumption of bacteria that grows rapidly within the intestine. It may take 24-72 hours for symptoms to appear.

FOODBORNE INTOXICATION: Is the result of consuming a pathogen or natural part of a plant that basically causes a chemical reaction. Chemical contamination.

FOODBORNE TOXIN MEDIATED INFECTION: Is caused by the consumption of pathogens that on their own do

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