衛教資訊
Food Poisoning 食物中毒
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Food Poisoning 食物中毒
Food poisoning refers to diseases caused by ingestion of food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms, toxic chemical substances or other toxins.
Common food poisoning symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, headache, and weakness, sometimes accompanied by bloody stools or pus stools, depending on the patient’s age, personal health, the type of disease causing food poisoning, and how much he/she has eaten. Factors such as contaminated food will affect the symptoms and severity of poisoning. People with particularly weak immunity will have more severe symptoms and may even die from food poisoning. The symptoms of general food poisoning usually last for 1 or 2 days, and some last for 1 week to 10 days.
Food poisoning classification
- Bacterial food poisoning, such as: Salmonella, Vibrio enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Cactus bacillus, Clostridium botulinum, pathogenic Escherichia coli, etc.
- Chemical food poisoning, such as pesticides, illegal food additives, heavy metals, etc.
- Natural toxic poisoning, such as: poisonous shellfish, poisonous puffer fish, poisonous mushroom, etc.
- Allergic food poisoning, such as: stale or spoiled fish and meat.
Common causes of food poisoning
- Insufficient refrigeration and heating
- Leave the food at room temperature for too long after preparation
- Cross contamination of raw and cooked food
- Food contamination caused by poor hygiene of the staff or they have been infected
- Food preparation utensils or equipment are not cleaned
- Water source is polluted
- Ingestion of food containing natural toxins
Five Principles of Preventing Food Poisoning
- Wash your hands: wash your hands before and after preparing food, and bandage any wounds.
- Be fresh: The ingredients must be fresh and sanitary, and the water must be clean.
- Separate raw and cooked food: use different utensils to handle raw and cooked food to avoid cross-contamination.
- Be heated thoroughly: the bacteria in the food center will be easily destroyed if the temperature exceeds 70℃.
- Pay attention to the storage temperature: Only when the temperature is lower than 7℃ can inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Treatment of suspected food poisoning
- Seek medical attention immediately if symptoms of food poisoning occur.
- Keep the remaining food samples (sealed and kept in low temperature refrigeration, not frozen), and notify the health unit as soon as possible.
- The medical hospital (institute) should notify the health unit within 24 hours if it finds a food poisoning patient.
- 衛生福利部食品藥物管理署.防治食品中毒專區。https://www.fda.gov.tw/TC/site.aspx?sid=1816&r=996759949
- 衛生福利部(2017,6月8日).遵守五要原則,預防食品中毒。https://www.mohw.gov.tw/cp-3250-29716-1.html
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