Foodborne illness is very common, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that every year one in six Americans will get sick with food poisoning. This public health problem is a highly preventable one, however. The video they have created clearly illustrates steps everyone can take to limit their risk of developing illness from contaminated food. Tips for every part of the kitchen, from correct hand washing technique at the sink to the proper temperature for cooking meats, are discussed here.
Want some facts about food poisoning? The CDC estimates that every year, food causes around 48 million people to get sick, with 128,000 being hospitalized, and 3,000 dying. Over 250 foodborne sicknesses have been described. Many of those are infections that are caused by myriad bacteria, parasites and viruses that can reside in food. Other causes are from chemicals and toxins in the food like those in poisonous mushrooms.
While there is no standard set of symptoms from food poisoning, since the microbes or toxins enter the body via the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms often start there with nausea and diarrhea being common.