Food Poisoning and Contamination

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food poisoning causes an estimated 76 million cases of human illness in the United States each year, 5,000 of which result in death and more than 325,000 people are hospitalized annually. Poisonings led to $26 billion dollars in medical expenses. As with any product in stores or purchased at a restaurant, we assume that food must be safe. Unfortunately, thousands of Americans discover each year that this isn't always true. Despite laws designed to protect the public from food poisoning outbreaks, contaminated food continues to reach store and restaurant patrons. Fortunately, because food safety is so important to public health, the law allows victims of food poisoning to hold the negligent farmers, preparers, sellers or servers of food responsible for the results of an outbreak.

Our food may contain many substances that can make you sick, including: parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals. The most common source of food poisoning is bacteria. All foods contain small amounts of bacteria, but improper handling, cooking or storage of food can make bacteria grow large enough to cause illness. According to the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, "Microbial pathogens in food cause an estimated 6.5-33 million cases of human illness and up to 9,000 deaths in the United States each year. Over 40 different food borne microbial pathogens, including fungi, viruses, parasites, and bacteria, are believed to cause human illnesses. For six bacterial pathogens, the costs of human illness are estimated to be $9.3-$12.9 billion annually. Of these costs, $2.9-$6.7 billion are attributed to food borne bacteria."

At-Risk Individuals

The highest risk groups for contracting food poisoning include older adults, infants, young children and people with chronic diseases or immune deficiencies. Even healthy people may become seriously sick and have to be hospitalized to help fight off the toxins and to stop severe dehydration or infections. The most vulnerable individuals are at risk for death or serious lifelong health problems like kidney failure. The steep medical bills, possible disabilities or premature deaths that result often could have been prevented with a little more care from those who grew, stored, prepared or served the food. The law in Florida holds the purveyors of adulterated food civilly responsible for the harm they do.

Almost weekly, the news media report on businesses in the food distribution chain that have sold food that has made many people sick. Also frequently in the news are the recalls of food products that have been contaminated with bacteria and other potentially harmful substances.

Causes of Food Poisoning

Bacteria and viruses are the most common causes of food poisoning. They include:

  • Campylobacter, which is the most common source of diarrhea from bacteria. The symptoms are fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. These bacteria live in the intestines of healthy birds, and because of the processing of the meat, most raw chicken has campylobacter. The major source of this infection comes from eating undercooked chicken or allowing contaminated raw chicken or juice to touch other foods.
  • E. Coli, which is normally found in cattle; the source infection from the bacteria in humans can usually be traced to cow feces. These symptoms include severe, bloody diarrhea and extreme abdominal cramps, but usually no fever.
  • Hepatitis A, which is a disease of the liver caused be a virus. The source is human feces and can be contracted by direct contact; however food handlers with the virus are frequently identified as the source. There are multiple symptoms including fever, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and myalgia followed by jaundice. The symptoms may last up to 28 days. There is no specific treatment that has been shown as effective, and although the symptoms may subside, the disease never leaves the body.
  • Listeria Monocytogenes, which causes a serious bacterial infection known as Listeria. Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer. Animals can contaminate foods of animal origin such as meats and dairy products. The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. The symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and sometimes nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness; however, infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarraige or stillbirth, premature delivery, or infection of the newborn.
  • Salmonella, which produces symptoms of fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps and can come from a wide range of food sources. It lives in the intestines of many species of birds, reptiles or mammals.
  • Shigella, which is a bacteria that usually spreads from human to human but can become food borne due to poor hygiene by food handlers or servers. Insects can also spread the disease to prepared food. The symptoms are diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps that last from 5 to 7 days.
  • Calcivirus (Norovirus or Norwalk Virus), which is unlike most food borne illnesses in that it is thought to be spread by humans. It is associated more with acute vomiting rather than diarrhea and is usually over within two days.
  • Giardia Iamblia and Cryptosporidia, which are primarily water born parasites that can be contracted from undercooked, contaminated food.
  • Staphylococcus Aureus, which is bacterium that grows in some foods. It is the toxin the bacteria produces that caused extreme vomiting. It is most often contracted from infected food workers or through eating contaminated milk or cheese. These toxins are fast acting and consumers may experience symptoms within 30 minutes.
  • Clostridium Botulinum, commonly referred to as botulism, is not rare in the United States. It is caused by a nerve toxin produced by the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria. Food borne botulism is caused from eating food contaminated with the botulism toxin, usually in home-canned foods. Symptoms include double vision or blurred vision, dropping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth and muscle weakness, all associated with paralysis caused by the toxin. Early cases can be treated with anti-toxins, but there can still be a long recovery process. Extreme cases can result in respiratory failure.
If You Think You Have Food Poisoning
 
Signs that you may have food poisoning can be confused with the systems of other conditions. If you experience an unusual onset of diarrhea, vomiting, nausea or abdominal pain you should consult with your doctor or go to an emergency room as soon as possible. You should also ask your doctor if he or she is going to file a report with the Health Department and to conduct a stool/vomit culture to see if the cause for the poisoning can be determined. It is important to write down everything the doctor says and what you have eaten, where you ate it, and when you ate it, since various types of food poisoning have different incubation periods.
 
Contact the Kane Law Firm, P.A.

Victims of food poisoning may experience symptoms ranging from mild discomfort all the way to life threatening collapse of kidney and lung functions. It is important to get prompt care and to notify the health department to protect other consumers.

If you have suffered from food poisoning or contamination injuries, please call the Central Florida Food Poisoning and Contamination Attorneys at the Kane Law Firm, P.A., in Orlando, Florida, at (407) 898-9130, submit a contact form on our website, or email us at Info@KaneInjury.com.

We offer a free initial consultation, and if we agree to take your case, we will work on a contingency basis. This means we will get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.