Food Borne Illness - Tooele County Health Department

Food borne illnesses are caused by a bacteria, virus, and sometimes parasites. If a person eats Pathogen Photo food which has been contaminated by these germs (also called microbes or pathogens) they begin to divide and multiply in the digestive system. As the number of germs increase, the person becomes ill.

The time varies from the time the contaminated food is eaten until illness occurs. Salmonella bacteria, for example, develop in the intestine after the meal has been digested. It takes a few hours for the stomach to empty into the intestine, so a person gets ill usually about 4 - 6 hours after eating. Botulism, on the other hand, doesn't appear until 18 - 36 hours after eating, sometimes even 4 to 8 days later.

There are many organisms associated with foode borne illness. For more information about bacteria and viruses, visit the FDA "Bad Bug Book" Website.

Most of the time, illness occurs because food was improperly cooked or cooled, and not kept at the proper temperature. Food prepared ANYWHERE from home, city fairs, even taste tests at the local store can cause illness if prepared and handled incorrectly.

The U. S. Centers for Disease Control list these 6 circumstances as the ones most likely to lead to food borne illness. Check through the list to make sure you have covered these common causes of food borne disease:

1.	Inadequate Cooling and Cold Holding. More than half of all food poisonings are due to keeping foods out at room temperature for more than 2 - 4 hours. Cold foods must be kept at a temperature of 40 degrees F.
2.	*Preparing food too far ahead of serving*. Food prepared twelve or more hours before it is served increases the risk of temperature abuse.
3.	*Poor personal hygiene and infected personnel.* Poor hand washing techniques along with improper hygiene as well as food handlers working while ill are implicated in 1 out of every 4 food poisonings.
4.	*Inadequate reheating.* Leftover food must be held above 140 degrees F until served. Otherwise, they can become highly contaminated.
5.	*Inadequate hot holding.* Cooked foods not held above 135 degrees F until served can become highly contaminated.
6.	*Contaminated raw foods & ingredients.* Serving raw shellfish or raw milk that is contaminated, or using contaminated raw eggs in sauces and dressings, has often led to outbreaks of food borne disease. It is always safer to use pasteurized products.
If you are serving food to people outside your own home, remember you must have a Food Handlers Permit. These permits are available from the health department. You may view the Food Handlers Permit Regulations.

Tooele County Health Department Environmental Health
151 North Main Street • Tooele, Utah • 84074
(435) 277-2440 • (435) 277-2444 Fax
"Protecting Your Future"