Microorganisms That Affect Food

Various microorganisms have affected food supplies around the world for decades. Public health food safety has improved significantly through milk pasteurization, safe canning, and water sanitation which have prevented many microorganisms from contaminating food products. However, foods can still be contaminated by pathogens which can cause mild-to-serious health implications depending on the microorganism present. Certain microorganisms are more common in causing food-borne illness when compared to others.

Escherichinia coli O157:H7

• Escherichinia coli serotype O157:H7, or E. coli, is an aerobic bacteria that produces a shiga toxin which causes diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and a low-grade fever. This bacteria is passed through fecal matter which can contaminate food products and infect other people. E. coli is broken into four subgroups each with its own characteristics: enterotoxigenic, enterinvasive, hemorrhagic, and enteropathogenic. This bacteria is normally associated with ground beef, unpasteurized milk and apple cider, and lettuce.

Salmonella

• Salmonella is a non-spore forming bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals and humans. This bacteria is commonly associated with meats, poultry, fish and eggs. Salmonella symptoms include stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, and headache which usually last for one to two days. Sufficient cooking temperatures above 150 degrees Fahrenheit is normally suitable enough to destroy salmonella bacterium.

Hepatitis A Virus

• The Hepatitis A virus uses a living host to multiply. This virus is transferred person-to-person through food. It can survive for several days at refrigeration temperatures. Hepatitis A thrives in the intestinal tracts of the infected human where it is shed through the feces. You can spread Hepatitis A through improper sanitation techniques after using the bathroom and then handling food. Hepatitis A symptoms include lethargy, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever, and jaundice.

Clostridium botulinum

• Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria that is anaerobic and is a spore-former which produces a neurotoxin capable of causing double vision, droopy eye lids, paralysis, and difficulty in speaking, breathing, and swallowing. Symptoms appear withing 12 to 36 hours of ingestion. This bacteria is rare but can be fatal. Clostridium botulinum is associated with under-processed home-canned foods, baked potatoes, fried onions, honey, and garlic-in-oil mixtures. You can destroy the botulinum toxin by boiling contaminated food for 10 minutes.

Claviceps purpurea

• Claviceps purpurea is a fungus associated with grains such as rye, wheat, barley, and many grasses including meadow foxtail, wild oat, cheatgrass, wild barley and annual bluegrass. This fungus produces toxins that create ergot which causes two possible symptoms: convulsive and gangrenous ergotism. Convulsive ergotism produces nervous system dysfunction while gangrenous ergotism causes loss of body extremities such as toes, fingers, legs and arms. This fungus favors wet conditions during flowering and open flowers.

Giardia lamblia

• Giardia lamblia is a single-celled flagellate parasite that is found in water and in the intestinal tracts of infected animals and humans. The cysts of the parasite are shed in feces of infected hosts which can contaminate foods handled by the contaminated person. This parasite causes diarrhea, flatulence, and bloating which takes one to four weeks to onset after the consumption of the parasite's cysts.