Foodborne Bacteria Table
Symptoms and
Prevention
Potential Impact
Diarrhea (sometimes
Cook meat and poultry to
bloody), cramping,
a safe minimum internal
Contaminated water, abdominal pain, and
temperature; do not drink
raw or unpasteurized fever that appear 2 to 5
Campylobacter
or consume unpasteurized
milk, and raw or
days after eating; may
jejuni
milk or milk products;
undercooked meat,
last 7 days. May spread to
wash your hands after
poultry, or shellfish.
bloodstream and cause a
coming in contact with
life- threatening
feces.
infection.
Bacteria produce a nerve Do not use damaged
toxin that causes illness, canned foods or canned
affecting the nervous
foods showing signs of
system. Toxin affects the swelling, leakage,
nervous system.
punctures, holes,
Symptoms usually appear fractures, extensive deep
18 to 36 hours, but can
rusting, or
sometimes appear as few crushing/denting severe
Improperly canned
as 6 hours or as many as enough to prevent normal
Clostridium
foods, garlic in oil,
10 days after eating;
stacking. Follow safety
botulinum
vacuum-packed and
double vision, blurred
guidelines when home
tightly wrapped food.
vision, drooping eyelids, canning food. Boil home
slurred speech, difficulty canned foods for 10
swallowing, dry mouth, minutes before eating to
and muscle weakness. If ensure safety. (Note: Safe
untreated, these
home canning guidelines
symptoms may progress may be obtained from
causing muscle paralysis State University or County
and even death.
Extension Office).
Intense abdominal
Keep hot foods hot and
Meats, meat products cramps nausea, and
cold foods cold! Once food
and gravy Called "the diarrhea may appear 6 to is cooked, it should be held
cafeteria germ"
24 hours after eating;
hot, at an internal
because many
usually last about 1 day, temperature of 140 °F or
Clostridium
outbreaks result from but for immune
above. Use a food
perfringens
food left for long
comprised individuals,
thermometer to make
periods in steam tables symptoms may last 1 to 2 sure. Discard all perishable
or at room
weeks. Complications
foods left at room
temperature.
and/or death can occur temperature longer than 2
only very rarely.
hours; 1 hour in
Bacteria
Associated Foods
Bacteria
Associated Foods
Symptoms and
Potential Impact
Prevention
temperatures above 90 °F.
Soil, food, water,
Dehydration, weight loss,
contaminated
stomach cramps or pain, Wash your hands before
surfaces. Swallowing fever, nausea, and
and after handling raw
contaminated water, vomiting; respiratory
meat products, and after
including that from
symptoms may also be changing diapers, going to
recreational sources, present. Symptoms begin the bathroom, or touching
Cryptosporidium (e.g., a swimming pool 2 to 10 days after
animals. Avoid water that
or lake); eating
becoming infected, and might be contaminated.
uncooked or
may last 1 to 2 weeks.
(Do not drink untreated
contaminated food;
Immune-comprised
water from shallow wells,
placing a
individuals may
lakes, rivers, springs,
contaminated object in experience a more
ponds, and streams.)
the mouth.
serious illness.
Severe diarrhea (often
Cook hamburgers and
bloody diarrhea),
ground beef to a safe
abdominal cramps, and minimum internal
Uncooked beef
vomiting. Usually little or temperature of 160°F.
(especially ground
no fever. Can begin 2 to 8 Drink only pasteurized
beef), unpasteurized days, but usually 3-4 days milk, juice, or cider. Rinse
milk and juices (e.g., after consumption of
fruits and vegetables
Escherichia coli “fresh” apple cider);
contaminated food or
under running tap water,
O157:H7
contaminated raw
water and last about 5 to especially those that will
fruits and vegetables, 7 days depending on
not be cooked. Wash your
or water. Person to
severity. Children under 5 hands with warm water
person contamination are at greater risk of
and soap after changing
can also occur.
developing hemolytic
diapers, using the
uremic syndrome (HUS), bathroom, handling pets
which causes acute
or having any contact with
kidney failure.
feces.
Ready-to-eat foods
Fever, muscle aches, and Cook raw meat, poultry
such as hot dogs,
sometimes
and seafood to a safe
luncheon meats, cold gastrointestinal
minimum internal
cuts, fermented or dry symptoms such as nausea temperature; prevent
sausage, and other
or diarrhea. If infection cross contamination,
Listeria
deli-style meat and
spreads to the nervous separating ready to eat
monocytogenes
poultry. Also, soft
system, symptoms such foods from raw eggs, and
cheeses made with
as headache, stiff neck, raw meat, poultry,
unpasteurized milk.
confusion, loss of
seafood, and their juices;
Smoked seafood and balance, or convulsions wash your hands before
salads made in the
can occur .Those at risk and after handling raw
Bacteria
Symptoms and
Potential Impact
store such as ham
(including pregnant
salad, chicken salad, or women and newborns,
seafood salad.
older adults, and people
with weakened immune
systems) may later
develop more serious
illness; death can result
from Listeria. Can cause
severe problems with
pregnancy, including
miscarriage or death in
newborns.
Associated Foods
Raw or undercooked
eggs, poultry, and
meat; unpasteurized
Salmonella (over
milk and juice; cheese
2300 types)
and seafood; and
contaminated fresh
fruits and vegetables.
Person-to-person by
fecal-oral route; fecal
contamination of food
and water. Most
Shigella (over 30
outbreaks result from
types)
food, especially salads,
prepared and handled
by workers using poor
personal hygiene.
Commonly found on
the skin and in the
Staphylococcus
noses of up to 25% of
aureus
healthy people and
animals. Person-to-
Prevention
meat ,poultry, seafood and
egg products. Those with a
weakened immune system
should avoid eating hot
dogs, and deli meats,
unless they are reheated
to 165 ºF or steaming hot.
Do not drink raw
(unpasteurized) milk or
foods that have
unpasteurized milk in
them, (e.g. soft cheeses).
Do not eat deli salads
made in store, such as
ham, egg, tuna or seafood
salad.
Diarrhea, fever, and
Cook raw meat, poultry,
abdominal cramps
and egg products to a safe
usually appear 12 to 72 temperature. Do not eat
hours after eating; may raw or undercooked eggs.
last 4 to 7 days. In people Avoid consuming raw or
with weakened immune unpasteurized milk or
system, the infection may other dairy products.
be more severe and lead Produce should be
to serious complications, thoroughly washed before
including death.
consuming.
Hand washing is a very
Disease referred to as
important step to prevent
"shigellosis" or bacillary shigellosis. Always wash
dysentery. Diarrhea
your hands with warm
(watery or bloody) , fever, water and soap before
abdominal cramps; 1 to 2 handling food and after
days from ingestion of
using the bathroom,
bacteria and usually
changing diapers or having
resolves in 5 to 7 days
contact with an infected
person.
Severe nausea,
Because the toxins
abdominal cramps,
produced by this
vomiting, and diarrhea bacterium are resistant to
occur 30 minutes to 6
heat and cannot be
hours after eating;
destroyed by cooking,
Bacteria
Associated Foods
person through food
from improper food
handling. Multiply
rapidly at room
temperature to
produce a toxin that
causes illness.
Contaminated milk
and cheeses.
Uncooked or raw
Vibrio vulnificus seafood (fish or
shellfish); oysters
Symptoms and
Potential Impact
recovery from 1 to 3 days
— longer if severe
dehydration occurs.
Prevention
preventing the
contamination of food
before the toxin can be
produced is important.
Keep hot foods hot (over
140°F) and cold foods cold
(40°F or under); wash your
hands with warm water
and soap and wash kitchen
counters with hot water
and soap before and after
preparing food.
Do not eat raw oysters or
other raw shellfish; cook
In healthy persons
shellfish (oysters, clams,
symptom include
mussels) thoroughly.
diarrhea, stomach pain,
Prevent crossand vomiting May result
contamination by
in a blood infection and
separating cooked seafood
death for those with a
and other foods from raw
weakened immune
seafood and its juices.
systems particularly with
Refrigerate cooked
underlying liver disease.
shellfish within two hours
after cooking.