Everybody is vulnerable to food-borne illness, but some groups such as babies, young children and pregnant women are particularly at risk. The most frequent cause of food-borne disease, (commonly called food poisoning), is bacterial contamination resulting from mishandling or mistreatment of food during storage and preparation.
Bacteria are most likely to grow in nutritious, high-risk foods such as milk and dairy products, chicken, seafood, eggs, meat, and even cooked rice. The ‘danger zone’ for food is any temperature between 4°C and 60°C. Warm, moist conditions are ideal for bacteria to grow. The best way to keep food safe is to keep high-risk foods very cold until you are ready to use them.
Symptoms of food-borne illness may include stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea or fever.
