I know very little about the various Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites and Toxins that can be found in food and cause illness. I thought it might be an idea for a thread dedicated to the little beasts where the more knowledgeable members can tell us:
- What the various Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites and Toxins are
- Where they can be found
- What foods they especially like to contaminate
- What problems or illnesses they can cause people
- How to get rid of them / cure the sick
- Their danger level as rated against other bugs
- How to prevent them from contaminating food in the first place
Maybe if a member told us all about one type in particular or maybe if there were enough interest we could set up a dedicated thread for each nasty. Maybe we could have a specific forum on microbiology?
What do you think?
Regards,
Simon
OHHH interesting question Simon!
I'm sure there are others here who are better informed than i am, but fortunately i do know a little bit more than the micro basics.
Different products (and industries) are concerned with different bacteria or viruses.
If your in canning the pathogen of choice would be
Clostridium botulinum. As those in the canning sector would vouch, it's a nasty little bugger!
Those dealing with milk powders or chocolate would probably come out in a cold sweat because of
Salmonella. Mind you, as Edwina Curry was quick to point out, eggs can also be affected.
The meat industry probably worries more about good old
Campylobacter, although again
Salmonella and
E Coli could but the fear of god (or allah) into you!
Bacillus cereus is another player. Usually associated with reheating chinese rice. This one forms a spores in the rice which are heat resistant and the spores can produce a toxin.
We come to
E Coli, probably one of the more publicised bacteria., especially
E Coli 0157 which there has been a few outbreaks from in the past few years, where there have also been deaths. For a while Scotland was
E Coli capital of the UK (outbreak wise) but i fear that Wales is taking over this mantle, with 2 cases currently from a chip shop in North Wales. It can grow in many foods, not really having a preference, but it is an indicator of faecal contamination.
Listeria monocytogenes frightens the majority of us involved in the chilled sector. Can survive (and reproduce) at cold temperatures. It can be found in soil, which is why we tend to be a bit fussy about footwear!
There are a number of viruses. Probably the one we all hear about is
Rotaviruses (or cruise ship sickness). Those involved in cultured products such as cheeses or yogurts are probably more concerned about phages!
Then we come to our fungi...good old
yeasts and moulds. Some of these can produce spores, but they are deemed to be spoilage organisms rather than pathogens. There are hundreds of different types, far too many to mention, but some do have benefits too. Blue cheeses etc
Hope that has whetted your appetite, so to speak.
If somebody else wants to add, be interested to see.
Caz x