Organisms food poisoning

Selective media for staphylococci. It is often necessary to examine pathological specimens, food and pharmaceutical products for the presence of staphylococci, organisms which can cause food poisoning as well as systemic infections. 

Salmonella typhi is the causal organism of typhoid fever, Sal. paratyphi causes paratyphoid fever, whilst Sal. typhimurium, Sal. enteritidis and very many other closely related organisms are a cause of bacterial food poisoning. 

Botulinus toxin comes from Clostridium botulmum, an organism that causes food poisoning. Botulinus toxin prevents the release of ACh from nerve endings by mechanisms that are not clear. Death occurs from respiratory failure caused by the inability of diaphragm muscles to contract. 

Escherichia coli (E. coii)—Bacteria in human intestine that aids in digestion it does not cause disease unless the bacteria escape to other organs or tissues. However, some strains of . coli produce toxins and can cause food poisoning. Strains of . coli are used in biotechnology, modified so the bacteria cannot cause disease. 

The spectrum of gastrointestinal tract infections (GTI) cover a wide spectrum from asymptomatic Helicobacter pylori gastritis to self-limiting viral gastroenteritis to food poisoning to bacterial enterocolitis to antibiotic-associated Clostridium difficile colitis to typhoid fever with sepsis and multi-organ failure. 

Botulism is most commonly caused by ingestion of a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum in improperly canned food. Poisoning may also occur after wound contamination with the organism. Infant botulism may occur when spores of the organism germinate and manufacture the toxin in the intestinal tract of infants. Botulinum toxin works by inhibiting ACh release at all cholinergic synapses. 

There have been a number of cases of food poisoning associated with pathogenic E. coli 0157 contamination of fresh apple juice (Battey Schaffner, 2001 Czajka Batt, 1996 Miller Kasper, 1994 Parish, 1997, 2000 Splittsoesser et al., 1996 Zhao et al., 1993), which was found to be able to grow in apple juice with low pH. The organism potentially has a low infective dose of <100 cells, and this, coupled with the occasional severe side-effect of haemolytic uraemic syndrome, makes E. coli 0157 a severe hazard within unpasteurised juices. 

Sensitivity of various indicator bacteria and food poisoning organisms to irradiation in relation to growth phase and suspending medium. 

In reality, decisions about public health are often made on the basis of politics rather than science. If this were not so, more resources would be committed to controlling food poisoning relating to micro-organisms and less to relatively minor health hazards such as pesticides and environmental contaminants. Political decision-making needs to balance the needs of public health against legitimate consumer expectations. 

We know that much of the recent compunction for consumers to choose organic food has been driven by media attention to food scares , which have popularised the focus on food safety and health. Issues such as salmonella in eggs, E. coli food poisoning and the BSE disaster have all taken their toll on consumers confidence in the food industry. 

P Grandjean and S. Tarkowski (eds.). Toxic Oil Syndrome Mass Food Poisoning in Spain, Report on a WHO Meeting Madrid, 21-25 Mar. 1983, Copenhagen, World Health Organization, 1984. 

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