Lesson 2: Influence of Surroundings On Nutrition
Food Contamination
Food contamination is any illness that is caused by the consumption of contaminated food. The chemicals and food additives are not the only sources, which contaminate the food, but food contamination also occurs via microorganisms, which cause diseases such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. Food contamination also takes place through natural toxins in plants and animals such a mushrooms and shellfish (mushroom poisoning - we all are quite familiar with it) as well as chemicals such as insecticides and metal poisoning (mercury poisoning - for instance). The occurrence of food poisoning symptoms may vary from 2 hours to a period of two days. Symptoms included here are:
- Nausea
- Abdominal/stomach cramps
- Dehydration
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Falling unconscious
- Dizziness
Food poisoning can be proved to be fatal if proper measures are not taken. It is recorded that every year 76 million people suffer from food poisoning in the United States out of which 5,000 cases prove to be fatal.
Food poisoning, (also known as food-borne illness) is originally caused by certain bacteria or their related toxins, which are toxic proteins, produced by the bacteria. For instance, Staphylococcus is one such toxic producing bacterium, which is found almost everywhere, and its habitat mostly includes foods stored at room temperatures, particularly processed meat, fish, milk and cream-filled foods.
Escherichia Coli (popularly known as E.coli) is one bacterium present in our body in our intestines. Recent studies have shown that if this bacterium produces high amounts of toxins in our body, it can leads to problems like kidney damage, blood poisoning or even septicemia. Symptoms of E.coli poisoning include diarrhea, chills, headaches and high fever and in some cases, it is found that in spite of medical treatment, this infection can lead to death. Ailments from E.coli can develop by consuming…
- Uncooked meat
- Unpasteurized milk
- By handling food without washing ones hands after changing diapers.
Food poisoning is not always caused by the toxins released by the bacterium but also by the growing colonies of these bacteria themselves. The most harmful bacteria are Salmonella Enteritidis, which is most often spread through poultry, eggs and egg products, for instance mayonnaise. Another bacterial pathogen linked with food contamination is Listeria Monocytogenes, which is known to be the cause of meningitis, stillbirths and septicemia. Another pathogen known as Campylobacter Jejuni is found to result in arthritis, inflammation of the heart, and other organs. It is also found to be linked with paralysis.
So next time, make sure that you are perfectly clean while handling foods and that you take steps to avoid as many unhealthy habits as possible.
