{"id":454,"date":"2019-03-11T19:14:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T19:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunyltnutrition\/?post_type=chapter&p=454"},"modified":"2019-04-15T13:47:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T13:47:58","slug":"11-4-common-food-borne-pathogens","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sunyltnutrition\/chapter\/11-4-common-food-borne-pathogens\/","title":{"raw":"11.4: Common Food-Borne Pathogens","rendered":"11.4: Common Food-Borne Pathogens"},"content":{"raw":"The majority of foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful bacteria and viruses, although some parasites\u00a0also cause foodborne illnesses.\u00a0In the past, bacterial infections were thought to be more prevalent because few places had the capability to test for\u00a0norovirus\u00a0and no active surveillance was being done for this particular agent. Toxins from bacterial infections are delayed because the bacteria need time to multiply. As a result, symptoms associated with intoxication are usually not seen until 12\u201372 hours or more after eating contaminated food. However, in some cases, such as Staphylococcal food poisoning, the onset of illness can be as soon as 30 minutes after ingesting contaminated food.\r\n
\r\n

Bacteria<\/h2>\r\nBacteria are tiny organisms that can cause\u00a0infections of the Gastrointestinal\u00a0(GI) tract<\/a>. Not all bacteria are harmful to humans. Some harmful bacteria may already be present in foods when they are purchased. Raw foods including meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, eggs, unpasteurized milk and dairy products, and fresh produce often contain bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. Bacteria can contaminate food\u2014making it harmful to eat\u2014at any time during growth, harvesting or slaughter, processing, storage, and shipping.\r\n\r\nFoods may also be contaminated with bacteria during food preparation in a restaurant or home kitchen. If food preparers do not thoroughly wash their hands, kitchen utensils, cutting boards, and other kitchen surfaces that come into contact with raw foods, cross-contamination\u2014the spread of bacteria from contaminated food to uncontaminated food\u2014may occur. If hot food is not kept hot enough or cold food is not kept cold enough, bacteria may multiply. Bacteria multiply quickly when the temperature of food is between 40 and 140 degrees. Cold food should be kept below 40 degrees and hot food should be kept above 140 degrees. Bacteria multiply more slowly when food is refrigerated, and freezing food can further slow or even stop the spread of bacteria. However, bacteria in refrigerated or frozen foods become active again when food is brought to room temperature. Thoroughly cooking food kills bacteria.\r\n\r\nMany types of bacteria cause foodborne illnesses. Examples include\r\n