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Food Poisoning & Contamination Cases In Orlando/Central Florida
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 hospitalized annually. Food Poisonings have led to over $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 stop severe dehydration or infections. The most vulnerable individuals are at risk for death or serious life-long health problems such as 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 reports on businesses in the food distribution chain that have sold food that has made many people sick. 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, the most common source of
diarrhea from bacteria. Symptoms of an infection 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 infection comes from
eating undercooked chicken, or allowing contaminated raw chicken 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. Symptoms of an infection include: severe, bloody diarrhea, and extreme abdominal cramps, but usually no fever.
- Hepatitis A, which is a disease of the liver caused by a virus. The source is human feces, and it is usually 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 the manure used as fertilizer. Animals can contaminate foods such as meats and dairy products. The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. 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 miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or infection of the newborn.
- Salmonella, which lives in the intestines of many
species of birds, reptiles or mammals, can infect a wide range
of food sources. Symptoms of an infection include: fever,
diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
- Shigella, which is a bacteria that usually spreads
from human to human, 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 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, drooping 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 for as far back as
you can remember (up to 2 weeks), where you ate it, and when you ate it,
since various types of food poisoning have different incubation
periods. As unpleasant as it may sound, it is also very important to save a sample of the food that you think made you sick and a sample of your stool or other waste to be tested.
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 Maitland – Orlando, Florida, at (407) 644-KANE(5263), 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.