Did you know that symptoms of foodborne illness could develop up to a week after consumption?

What Is Foodborne Illness?

Foodborne illness is a preventable public health challenge that causes an estimated 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States. It is an illness that comes from eating contaminated food. The onset of symptoms may occur within minutes to weeks and often presents itself as flu-like symptoms, as the ill person may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. Because the symptoms are often flu-like, many people may not recognize that the illness is caused by harmful bacteria or other pathogens in food.

Everyone is at risk for getting a foodborne illness. However, some people are at greater risk for experiencing a more serious illness or even death should they get a foodborne illness. Those at greater risk are infants, young children, pregnant women and their unborn babies, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems (such as those with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and transplant patients.) Some people may become ill after ingesting only a few harmful bacteria; others may remain symptom free after ingesting thousands.What Is Foodborne Illness?

Foodborne illness is a preventable public health challenge that causes an estimated 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States. It is an illness that comes from eating contaminated food. The onset of symptoms may occur within minutes to weeks and often presents itself as flu-like symptoms, as the ill person may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. Because the symptoms are often flu-like, many people may not recognize that the illness is caused by harmful bacteria or other pathogens in food.

From SAFS: It’s very important for restaurant owners and operators to understand the value of a food safety labeling and rotation system in place. When you use the Spoiler Alert Food Safety app and our smart labels you are not only eliminating risk of customer contamination but you are protecting yourself from liability. In this article from the FDA they are pointing out that foodborne illness is not an instantaneous event, in fact it’s up to a week for symptoms to develop. Think about that when someone just ate your food and claims “food poisoning”.

Learn more about the causes and prevention from this article here: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/foodborne-illness-and-disease