What is a foodborne illness?

If you work with food, you should be aware of common pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses and their telltale symptoms so you can protect your guests and staff.

The takeaways
During National Food Safety Month (NFSM), ServSafe experts will educate restaurant operators and food handlers on the five major pathogens—Norovirus, Salmonella, E. coli, Hepatitis A and Shigella; telltale symptoms to look out for; and how to prevent an outbreak.

• According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), foodborne illnesses occur when people eat or drink food or beverages that are contaminated with pathogens, chemicals, or toxins.
• Regardless of how food is contaminated, foodborne illness is a significant public health challenge. The FDA contends that 1 in 6 people get sick from it every year.
• Symptoms of foodborne illness typically include vomiting and gastrointestinal distress.
• You can prevent the spread of foodborne illness by cooking all food items to a safe minimum internal temperature, washing hands regularly and thoroughly before and after handling food, separating raw and cooked items, storing and holding food at safe temperatures, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces regularly, and staying home from work for 48 hours after symptoms stop.
• In the case of Hepatitis A, which is spread through direct contact with an infected person, getting vaccinated is the best protection. 

The bottom line
Over the next month, our food safety experts will take a deeper dive into the issue of common foodborne illnesses. Downloadable tools include:

• Our eBook, The Science of Foodborne Illnesses and Outbreaks Pt. 1: The Most Common Foodborne Illnesses.
• The 3- Legged Approach to Preventing Foodborne Illnesses, a downloadable poster on prevention strategies and establishing positive food-handler practices.
• Our new Always Ready guide on how to effectively respond to foodborne illness incidents. 

Join us for NFSM week 2, when our experts explore and highlight real-life outbreak scenarios along with the science of foodborne illness outbreaks.

Learn more about National Food Safety Month at foodsafetyfocus.com