It is certainly possible that the egg roll may have caused your
gastrointestinal symptoms. Sometimes even freshly-purchased food from
groceries and restaurants can make you sick, since you don't have any
way of knowing whether the food has been properly prepared and stored.
The chances of getting sick are much higher with food which has been
left unrefrigerated for long periods of time, particularly if it
contains eggs, dairy products, or meat. The kinds of symptoms that may
occur vary widely, from excess gas (with bloating, burping, or
flatulence) to vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea, which can
be severe and require medical attention in some cases.
Doctors call this condition "food-borne gastroenteritis." Common names
given to the problem include "food poisoning" and "stomach flu." The
latter is actually incorrect, since you cannot get flu (influenza) by
eating spoiled food. Although food poisoning can be caused by viruses,
bacteria, or parasites, the most common culprits are bacteria.
I have gathered some online material for you. For reasons of
copyright, I am posting brief excerpts here; you may want to read
these articles in their entirety, since there is a lot of good
information in them.
"Food poisoning is the result of eating organisms or toxins in
contaminated food. Most cases of food poisoning are from common
bacteria like Staphylococcus or E. coli.
Food poisoning can affect one person or it can occur as an outbreak in
a group of people who all ate the same contaminated food.
Even though food poisoning is relatively rare in the United States, it
affects between 60 and 80 million people worldwide each year and
results in approximately 6 to 8 million deaths.
Food poisoning tends to occur at picnics, school cafeterias, and large
social functions. These are situations where food may be left
unrefrigerated too long or food preparation techniques are not clean.
Food poisoning often occurs from undercooked meats or dairy products
(like mayonnaise mixed in coleslaw or potato salad) that have sat out
too long."
National Institutes of Health: Food Poisoning
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001652.htm
"Prime causes of food-borne illness include bacteria, parasites and
viruses such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, Giardia,
Cyclospora, Cryptosporidium and hepatitis A virus. These organisms can
be found in a wide range of foods and drinks, including meat, milk and
other dairy products, spices, chocolate, seafood and even water.
Poultry is the food most often contaminated with disease-causing
organisms. (It's been estimated that 60% or more of raw poultry sold
at retail outlets probably carries some disease-causing bacteria.)
Unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices; foods made with raw or
undercooked eggs; chicken, tuna, potato and macaroni salads; and
cream-filled pastries harboring these pathogens have also been
implicated in food-borne illnesses, as has fresh produce. Bacteria
such as Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio
parahaemolyticus and Salmonella have been found in raw seafood; and
oysters, clams, mussels, scallops and cockles may be contaminated with
hepatitis A virus."
Healthlink: How to Stop Food-Borne Illness Before it Starts
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1008283853.html
"The term food poisoning is generally used to describe illness caused
by all types of foodborne microorganisms. Food poisoning and food
infection are different, although the symptoms are similar. True food
poisoning or food intoxication is caused by eating food that contains
a toxin or poison due to bacterial growth in food. The bacteria which
produced and excreted the toxic waste products into the food may be
killed, but the toxin they produced causes the illness or digestive
upset to occur. Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum are
two species of bacteria that cause food poisoning.
Food infection is the second type of foodborne illness. It is caused
by eating food that contains certain types of live bacteria which are
present in the food...
What It Takes to Make You Sick
In order for an outbreak of foodborne illness to occur, whether it is
food poisoning or food infection, the following conditions must exist:
1. The microorganisms or its toxin must be present in the food.
2. The food must be suitable for the organism's growth.
3. The temperature must be suitable for the organism's growth.
4. Sufficient time must be given for the organism's growth.
5. There must be enough of the microorganisms or their toxin present
to cause illness.
6. You must eat the food."
The University of Georgia: Preventing Food Poisoning And Food Infection
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/b901-w.html
"Prevention
1. The first step in preventing food poisoning is to assume that all
foods may cause food-borne illness. Follow these steps to prevent food
poisoning:
2. Wash hands, food preparation surfaces and utensils thoroughly
before and after handling raw foods to prevent recontamination of
cooked foods.
3. Keep refrigerated foods below 40 degrees F.
4. Serve hot foods immediately or keep them heated above 140 degrees F.
5. Divide large volumes of food into small portions for rapid cooling
in the refrigerator. Hot, bulky foods in the refrigerator can raise
the temperature of foods already cooled.
6. Remember the danger zone is between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F.
7. Follow approved home-canning procedures. These can be obtained from
the Extension Service or from USDA bulletins.
8. Heat canned foods thoroughly before tasting.
9. When in doubt, throw it out."
BioTech: Bacterial Food Poisoning
http://www.biotechlab.com.au/poison.htm
More reference sources:
eMedicine: Food Poisoning
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic807.htm
MedicineNet: Food Poisoning
http://www.medicinenet.com/food_poisoning/article.htm
Ask NOAH About: Food Poisoning
http://www.noah-health.org/english/illness/gastro/foodpoison.html
OMNI: Food Poisoning
http://omni.ac.uk/browse/mesh/detail/C0016479L0016479.html
Google Web Search: "food poisoning"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22food+poisoning%22
I hope this helps! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
