96 Unit 2 Nutrition and Food Choices
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
• Salmonella is a bacterium that is common in the intestines of birds,
reptiles, and mammals. It can spread to humans through various
foods such as milk products, undercooked eggs, meat, poultry,
peanut butter, and cantaloupe.
• Clostridium perfringens is a bacterium commonly found on raw
meat and poultry, which produces a toxin that causes illness.
• Campylobacter, the most commonly identifi ed bacterial cause of
diarrheal illness in the world, is an organism that is present in
undercooked chicken or another food that has been contaminated
with juices from raw chicken (Figure 3.19).
Because these different diseases have many different symptoms, it can
be diffi cult to determine whether a particular illness is caused by some-
thing you ate. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea are,
however, common symptoms of many foodborne diseases.
Foodborne Illness Caused by Intoxication
Other types of food poisoning are caused by toxins in the food. These
toxins are produced by an organism present in the food. This type of food-
borne illness is called foodborne intoxication. Three common causes of
foodborne intoxication are
• Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium that lives in the digestive
tracts of humans and animals and can cause diarrhea, anemia, and
kidney failure; although some strains of this bacteria are harmless,
other strains can make a toxin that causes infection and disease;
• Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that can grow in some foods
and produce a toxin that causes intense vomiting; and
• Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that grows and produces a
powerful paralytic toxin in foods, causing the rare but deadly dis-
ease known as botulism.
Toxins can be present in food for other reasons. Toxins may be the re-
sult of contamination from chemicals, heavy metals, or other substances.
Preparing raw meat and
vegetables on the same
cutting board can cause
cross-contamination. How
many cutting boards do you
have in your house? How
does your family prevent
cross-contamination?
Figure 3.19
foodborne intoxication
an illness caused by toxins
that an organism has
produced in a food; toxins
may also be produced by
chemicals, heavy metals, or
other substances