Food-borne illness
Food-borne illness
What is a food-borne illness?
A food-borne illness is an occurrence during which one or several individuals experience symptoms whose cause is probably linked to the ingestion of water or food contaminated by microorganisms or by their toxins.
Food-borne illnesses include:
- food-borne infections: ingestion of living microorganisms that develop in the human intestine and disrupt the digestive system; the first symptoms appear between 8 hours and a few days after the meal (diarrhoea, stomach ache and fever)
- food poisoning: ingestion of bacterial toxins that are already present in the food; symptoms occur more quickly, usually within 6 hours after the meal (nausea, vomiting)
- food-borne illnesses: ingestion of microorganisms via contaminated food, which develop in the human intestine and produce toxins in situ.
Food-borne illness outbreaks
One or several individuals can fall ill after consuming the same product.
A food-borne illness outbreak is considered to occur when at least two cases are recorded, with similar symptoms (usually gastrointestinal symptoms) that can be linked to the same food source.
Summary table of microorganisms, their toxins, symptoms and food at risk
| Microorganisms or toxins | Incubation | Symptoms | Food at risk |
| Salmonella | 6 to 72 hours |
|
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| Campylobacter jejuni and coli | 1 to 5 days |
|
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| Escherichia coli | 3 to 9 days |
Duration: >1 week |
|
| Yersinia enterocolitica |
3 to 7 days |
|
|
| Histamine | A few minutes to a few hours |
|
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| Vibrio parahaemolyticus | 12 hours |
|
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| Shigella | 12 to 50 hours |
|
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| Staphylococcus aureus toxins |
2 to 4 hours |
|
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| Bacillus cereus emetic toxin | 1 to 5 hours |
|
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| Bacillus cereus diarrhoeal toxins |
8 to 16 hours |
|
Products rich in proteins:
|
| Clostridium perfringens toxins |
8 to 24 hours |
|
|
| Clostridium botulinum toxins (Botulism) |
12 to 48 hours |
|
|
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Marine biotoxins: amnesic toxins (ASP)
|
2 to 48 hours | Immediate symptoms (2 to 24 hours):
Late symptoms (24 to 48 hours):
|
|
| Marine biotoxins: lipophilic toxins (DSP) | 0.5 to 3 hours |
Secondary disorders such as headache, dizziness, fever and tachycardia are also observed occasionally |
|
| Marine biotoxins: paralytic toxins (PSP) | 0.5 to 2 hours |
|
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| Norovirus | 24 to 48 hours |
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