3B

• Campylobacter Jejuni:

  • Major cause of foodborne infection
  • Requires a strict amount of air for growth
  • Microaerophile bacteria that can tolerate only 3% - 6% oxygen for growth
  • Symptoms include abdominal pain and slight to severe bloody diarrhea
  • Commonly found in raw milk, raw poultry, and raw meats
  • Transferred from raw meats to other foods by cross-contamination
  • Prevention: cook raw meats properly, clean food-contact surfaces, wash hands thoroughly after handling raw foods
• Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (E. Coli):

  • Group of bacteria capable of producing Shiga toxin
  • Found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, especially cows
  • Symptoms include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, followed by hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in severe cases
  • Commonly found in raw milk, improperly pasteurized milk, raw and undercooked beef, raw finfish, unpasteurized apple juice
  • Transferred to foods like beef through contact with the intestines of slaughter animals, raw apples used for juice from orchards where cattle or deer grazed
• • Prevention: properly store and cook foods, avoid cross-contamination, use only pasteurized apple cider or fruit juice and milk products
• Listeria Monocytogenes:

  • Facultative anaerobic bacterium that can cause foodborne infection
  • Able to survive under various conditions such as high-salt foods and refrigerated temperatures
  • Symptoms include flu-like illness in healthier adults, complications can be life-threatening for pregnant women and at-risk populations
  • Commonly found in raw milk, raw meats, dairy products, cooked luncheon meats, hotdogs, raw vegetables, and seafood
  • Transmission can occur by cross-contamination or improper cooking
• • Prevention: cook foods thoroughly, practice good food-handling techniques, practice FIFO (first-in first-out) techniques
• Salmonella spp.:

  • Facultative anaerobic bacteria frequently implicated in foodborne infections
  • Found in human intestinal tract and warm-blooded animals
  • Symptoms include abdominal pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea
  • Commonly found in raw meat, poultry, eggs, milk & dairy products, pork, chocolate, cream-filled desserts
  • Transmission through cross-contamination and contaminated food-contact surfaces
  • Prevention: cook food thoroughly, clean and sanitize raw food-contact surfaces, observe proper hygiene, wash hands thoroughly before working with food
• Shigella spp.:

  • Facultative anaerobic bacteria commonly found in the intestines and feces of humans and warm-blooded animals
  • Causes shigellosis, a foodborne infection that results in watery diarrhea
  • Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, chills, fatigue, and dehydration
  • Commonly found in ready-to-eat salads, milk and dairy products, poultry, raw vegetables, and any food contaminated by feces
  • Transmission through contaminated water, food and utensils handled by carriers of the bacteria
• • Prevention: do not allow individuals diagnosed with shigellosis to handle foods, practice good personal hygiene, wash produce and raw products with potable water
• Staphylococcus Aureus:

  • Facultative anaerobic bacterium that produces a heat-stable toxin on foods
  • Can grow on cooked foods and produce toxins causing intoxication
  • Symptoms include severe nausea, acute abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea
  • Commonly found in ready-to-eat foods such as luncheon meats, salads, dairy products
  • Transmission through contamination from workers' hands, droplets of saliva, improperly tasting food
  • Prevention: avoid contamination from bare hands, observe proper hygiene, do not allow workers with infected cuts to handle food, heat and cool foods properly
• Vibrio spp.:

  • Three organisms within Vibrio (Vibrio cholera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio vulnificus) resistant to salt and common in seafood
  • Symptoms include headache, fever, chills, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, severe electrolyte loss
  • Commonly found in raw, underprocessed, and improperly handled seafood
  • Transmission through cross-contamination, consumption of raw or undercooked seafood
  • Prevention: buy seafood from approved sources, cook seafood properly, practice good personal hygiene and correct handwashing