by Ellen Kudlicki

Created on: June 07, 2008   Last Updated: June 09, 2008

According to medical experts, there are more than 250 causes for for poisoning. Shigella, botulism, salmonella are some of the more familiar bacteria that cause what can be at the very least a discomforting, and at the most, deadly disease. Some medical professions postulate that a large number of cases logged in as gastro-intestinal upsets are in fact food poisoning that has gone undetected and untreated.

So what causes food poisoning? In most cases it is the body's response to a perceived toxin. This can occur immediately or it can formulate over a period of time. The loss of time in wages and work hours make this a very serious business. Just in the past week, a salmonella outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has resulted in many people taken ill and countless tons of suspect produce being dumped from store shelves, farmers markets and restaurants across the region. This is not just a physical hit, but an economic blow as well. In most cases, the culprit is either poor sanitation or poor hygiene. Poor sanitation leads to restaurant workers preparing uncooked meat on contaminated surfaces or preparing cooked meat on surface contaminated by uncooked meat. This is simply ignorance and lack of oversight.

In many cases of food poisoning, the cause is a lack of personal hygiene. Restaurant and grocery workers are required by law to wash their hands after using the bathroom. But nobody monitors this and when you have workers who are not monitored and reminded, problems can arise. Uncooked or undercooked food is also a clear cause for concern. Most restaurants have a policy of checking internal heat temperatures of meat to insure that it is fully cooked. Perishable food should also be refrigerated until used. This is especially true of meat and dairy products. When local food inspectors go into a place that serves food, whether its a school cafeteria or a five star bistro, they check to see that refrigerators are working and being used properly and that cooked food is maintained at a heat level to prevent the growth of bacteria.

Not all cases of food poisoning originate outside the home. Assuming that good hygiene is in place, food poisoning can occur under the most innocent of guises. Consider the Thanksgiving turkey. Many people stuff the turkey and leave the stuffing inside. While the bird sits out on the kitchen counter after dinner, bacteria starts to form. Likewise, think about those deviled eggs or that yummy potato salad for the Glorious Fourth. If you set such foods out early and don't allow for refrigeration, the egg source in mayonnaise and the eggs themselves can create some serious problems. Even lunch meat or deli meat can go bad if not properly managed. So the moral of this story is to keep cold foods cold, hot foods hot, don't mix cooked and uncooked foods, clean your counters and dishes, and wash your hands. Nobody wants to spend a holiday in the emergency room or the bathroom.

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