Food Poisoning

Food Poisoning

	Food Poisoning To control and prevent the development of food poisoning and to prevent the spread of disease by foods is an important aspect of food microbiology. All food borne diseases are classified as food infections or food intoxications. These classifications are somewhat arbitary. Food infections are those in which microorganisms present in the food at the time of eating grow in the host and cause disease. Food intoxications are those diseases in which microorganism grow in the food, producing a substance therein which is toxic to man and animals. Food poisoning is the toxicity introduced into food by microorganisms and their products.
This does not include the toxications which follow the consumption of noxious plants (mushrooms),poisonous fish (mussels), or decomposed foods containing certain chemicals (arsenic, lead, fluorides, antimony, mercury salts). At one time it was believed that the products of putrefaction were the cause of food poisoning. These were called ptomaines, and were produced in putrefied meat and other proteinaceous foods. These are amines and result chiefly from the decarboxylation of amino acids. It could be demonstrated that ptomaines injected into animals were toxic, but when taken experimentally by mouth, they were not especially toxic. The food poisoning, therefore, could not be due to ptomaines. People generally do not eat foods that show visible spoilage, but sometimes if the appearance, flavour, and taste is normal, they do eat them. On the other hand, certain foods may show no signs of spoilage and yet be responsible for food poisoning.
The fact that organisms are present in food does not necessarily mean that they are harmful. Most of the organisms that cause spoilage of foods are harmless saprophytes. However, there are some forms of illness caused by organisms growing in foods. Staphylococcal food poisoning and botulism are defined as food intoxications, since injestion of the toxin causes the disease symptoms. The term food infection is used to describe diseases like salmonellosis and anteritis caused by Salmonella spp and Cl. perfringens, since these diseases are caused by the injestion of organisms.

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