Microbiology of meat and meat products

- II)Food poisoning

Microbial food poisoning: Food poisoning produced due to consumption of food contaminated with food poisoning organism itself and / or their toxin. it may be classified on the basis of mode of illness into:

A) Food infection

B) Food intoxication

E.X: bacteria

• Salmonella

• Campylobacter

• vibrioparahemolytica

• Yersinia enterocolitica

• Listeria monocytogenes

• Escherichinia coli O157:H7

E.X:

• Clostridium botulinum

• Clostridium perfringens

• Staphylococcus aureus

• Bacillus cereus

* The difference between the two types clinically is the incubation period interval elapse between eating and symptoms developed.

Bacterial food poisoning

Commonly associated foods	Main clinical symptoms	Normal duration	Normal incubation period	Agent
Cereals, rice	Vomiting	< 24 hours	1-5 hours	B. cereus emetic toxin
Cereals, rice	Abdominal pain, diarrhea	< 24 hours	8-16 hours	B.cereus enterotoxin
Poultry, cooked meats, milk	Abdominal pain, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), headache, fever	2-7 days	3-5 days	Campylobacter spp.
Preserved foods, e.g. canned, bottled	Swallowing difficulties, perhaps as respiratory failure	Extended	12-36 hours	Cl. Botulinum
Stews, roasts	Abdominal pain, diarrhea	24 hours	10-12 hours	Cl. Perfringens
Beefburgers, meat, dairy products	Abdominal pain, diarrhea (may be bloody). May lead to renal failure	Possibly extended	12 hours-10 days	E. coli 0157
Soft cheeses, pates, poultry meat	Fever, headache, spontaneous abortion, meningitis	Varies	3-21+ days	Listeria monocytogenes
Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products Cooked meat	Abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea	2-20 days	12-36 hours	Salmonella spp.
Cooked meat, human source	Vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea	12-24 hours	2-6 hours	Staph. Aureus
Shellfish	Abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, headache, vomiting fever	1-7 days	12-24 hours	Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Pig meat products	Acute diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and vomiting	1-3 weeks	3-7 days	Yersinia enterocolitica