Incubation period: 12-24 hours

Characteristics of Illness: Fever, cramps, diarrhea and sometimes vomiting.
Possible contaminant: Meat, poultry, egg or milk products

Onset: Illness may begin between 7 hrs to 3 days after eating contaminated food.

Duration: Illness may last 2-3 days. ;
Prevention of Illness:

• Avoid cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with raw meats or their juices.

• Thoroughly cook meat and poultry.

• Cook eggs thoroughly and never eat runny yolks or raw eggs.

• Always refrigerate processed meat products.

• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly.

Foods Associated with Campylobacter: Raw chicken and raw milk
Cause of illness: Infection, even with low numbers
Incubation period: One to seven days

Characteristics of Illness: Diarrhea, often associated with fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache and muscle pain. Illness can appear very similar to Salmonellosis.
Possible contaminant: Raw milk, eggs, poultry, raw beef, cake icing, water
Onset: Illness may begin between 2-5 days after eating contaminated food.
Duration: Illness may last 7-10 days.

Prevention of Illness:

• Avoid cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with raw meats or their juices.

• Cook meat and poultry thoroughly.

• Never drink raw milk.

• Pasteurize milk; cook foods properly; prevent cross-contamination

Foods Associated with Staphylococcus aureus: This bacteria has been associated with a wide range of foods, including meat and meat products, poultry and egg products, salads such as egg, tuna, potato and macaroni, cream-filled bakery products and pies, sandwich fillings and milk and dairy products. In general, Staph poisoning often occurs when a food has been handled a great deal (such as the chopping and handling involved in making a salad or sandwich) and is then left at temperatures above refrigeration which allow the bacteria to multiply and produce toxin.

Cause of illness: Toxin produced by certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus
Incubation period: One-six hours
Characteristics of Illness: Vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
Onset: Illness may begin within 3-8 hrs. after eating contaminated food.
Duration: Illness usually lasts about 2 days.

Prevention of Illness:

• Always wash hands well when preparing foods.

• Keep foods refrigerated.

Foods Associated with Listeria monocytogenes: Raw milk, raw meats and raw vegetables. Ice cream, soft-ripened cheeses, smoked fish, lunch meats, hot dogs and refrigerated salad-type products. This organism is unique in that it is able to grow even at refrigerated temperatures and so, while refrigeration of foods will slow the growth of Listeria, it will not stop it
completely.

Cause of illness: Infection with Listeria monocytogenes

Characteristics of Illness: In healthy individuals this organism may result in diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. However, in immunocompromised individuals (the very young, the elderly, pregnant women, those with AIDS or undergoing cancer treatment) Listeriosis may first appear as mild flu-like symptoms, but may then be followed by septicemia, meningitis, encephalitis and spontaneous abortion or stillbirth in pregnant women.

Possible contaminant: Vegetables, milk, cheese, meat, seafood
Onset: Illness may occur anywhere from 12 hrs to a few weeks after contaminated food is consumed.
Duration: In otherwise healthy individuals, mild symptoms may disappear in a day or two, but medical attention is required for immunosuppressed individuals who develop the above mentioned complications.

Prevention of Illness:

• Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.

• Keep foods refrigerated to slow the growth of Listeria, if it is present.

• Immunocompromised individuals should try to avoid eating implicated foods, such as soft-ripened cheeses or lunchmeat products.

• Pasteurize milk, cook foods properly, avoid cross- contamination; use sanitary practices

Foods Associated with E. coli O157:H7: Undercooked raw meat, apple cider, raw milk and raw produce.

Cause of illness: Strain of enteropathic E. coli

Incubation period: Two to four days

Characteristics of Illness: Severe cramping and diarrhea which is initially watery but becomes grossly bloody.

Possible contaminant: Ground beef, raw milk, alfalfa sprouts, unpasteurized fruit juices, dry-cured salami, lettuce, meat, and cheese curds. 
Onset: Illness may occur anywhere between 1 to 10 days after eating contaminated food, but usually occurs between 3 to 4 days.

Prevention of Illness:

• Cook ground meat thoroughly such  that the to an internal reaches minimum temp of  75^oC.

• Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly with running water.

• Do not drink unpasteurized milk.

• Do not drink unpasteurized apple cider unless it is well refrigerated.

Foods Associated with Clostridium botulinum: Improperly processed home canned foods. and Low-acid canned foods, meats, sausage, fish

Cause of illness: Toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum
Incubation period: 12 to 36 hours

Characteristics of Illness: Symptoms include double vision, vertigo, inability to swallow, Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, dry mouth, speech difficulty and progressive respiratory paralysis or respiratory failure . Nausea may also be present initially. muscle paralysis

Onset: Symptoms may begin within 18 hrs to 2 days of ingesting the toxin.

Duration: Greater than 65% of cases are fatal. In non-fatal botulism poisoning, recovery may take weeks to years, depending upon the severity of the poisoning.

Prevention of Illness:

• Do not eat food from swollen, leaking or severely damaged cans.

• Keep foods which are supposed to be refrigerated below 5^oC

• Do not feed honey to infants under 1 year old.

Foods Associated with Clostridium perfringens: Meat and/or gravy dishes are most often associated with this type of food borne illness. Generally C. perfringens poisoning occurs when such meat dishes are not cooked to high enough temperatures and then are allowed to sit out at room temperature for serving for an extended period of time.
Cause of illness: Contamination of drinking water or milk

Incubation period:8 to 24 hours
Characteristics of Illness: Abdominal cramping and diarrhea, headache, chills
Possible contaminant:Meat, poultry, and other foods held for serving at warm, but not hot, temperatures
Onset: Illness may begin between 8 to 22 hrs after ingesting contaminated food.
Duration: Illness may last 1-2 days.

Prevention of Illness:

• Keep hot foods hot (>60°C) or refrigerate them rapidly in shallow containers (<5°C) if they will not be served immediately.

• Cool foods rapidly after cooking;

Foods Associated with Bacillus cereus: Rice and grain products, dairy products such as milk, cream, custards and dried milk.

Characteristics of Illness: Bacillus cereus may cause two different types of illness. The first is know as the Diarrheal illness, which results in diarrhea and abdominal cramps occurring within 6 to 15 hrs of eating contaminated food. This illness may persist up to about 24 hours and resembles Clostridium perfringens food poisoning. The second type of illness caused by Bacillus cereus is know as the Emetic illness and results in nausea and vomiting within 3-6 hours of eating contaminated food. This illness also lasts about 24 hrs and it tends to resemble Staphylococcal food poisoning.

Prevention of Illness:

• Keep hot foods hot (>6°C) and keep cold foods cold (<5°C)!

Foods Associated with Vibrio paraheamolyticus: Seafoods, especially shellfish.

Characteristics of Illness: Diarrhea, abdominal cramps and nausea.
Onset: Illness may occur within 1 to 4 days after eating contaminated food.
Duration: Illness may last for 2 to 3 days.

Prevention of Illness:

• Keep seafood well refrigerated.

• Avoid eating raw shellfish.

Foods Associated with Shigella: Salads, raw produce, milk and dairy products. Contamination of foods with this bacteria is most commonly because of:

1. unsanitary handling of food by the food handlers or

2. contaminated water.

Characteristics of Illness: Severe watery diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea, fever and cramping.
Onset: Illness may begin between 12 hrs and 2 days after consuming contaminated food or water.
Prevention of Illness:

• Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.

• Always wash hands well when preparing foods.