Food poisoning impacts more than four million Australians each year and with the Christmas season fast approaching, it’s important to take food safety and food poisoning seriously.
In simple terms, food poisoning is caused because of contamination. This can be caused by food being prepared in unhygienic areas, if food is stored at incorrect temperatures, or if food is simply undercooked. Food poisoning terms many people are familiar with include staphylococcus aureus, listeria, salmonella and bacillus cereus and symptoms and side effects can vary from person to person.
Is food poisoning caused by the last thing I ate?
Despite the myth, food poisoning is not always caused by the last thing a person ate. In fact, the NSW Food Authority states that symptoms such as gastro intestinal cramps and vomiting can be caused by food eaten up to eight hours before symptoms start to show.
Diarrhoea on the other hand can begin between four hours to three days after eating affected food.
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