Food poisoning refers to an illness caused by consuming contaminated food. The symptoms include diarrhea, stomachache, fever, etc. A common bacteria that causes food poisoning is vibrio parahaemolyticus. The bacteria propagates especially well in the hot and humid summer season. This is also the period when mosquitoes, cockroaches and rats that transport bacteria become highly active. Thus, you should be extra careful to avoid bacteria infections, and beware of what you eat.
During the summer, you should be very careful when eating raw fish. This is because vibrio parahaemolyticus in seawater can contaminate fish. Even if you don’t eat raw fish, food poisoning can occur because of knives or cutting boards that were used to clean raw fish. Furthermore, the bacteria can even be passed on by people who touched or cleaned fish.
In addition, you need to be extra careful with eating shellfish. Shellfish can also be easily exposed to vibrio parahaemolyticus, and they can also go bad quite quickly in the hot and humid summer weather. When eating shellfish, make sure to cook it thoroughly!
Lastly, you should double check the conditions of ham, cheese, sausage, etc. as they can contain the bacteria called clostridium botulinum. Clostridium botulinum can grow in extreme environment that does not have oxygen. Therefore, the bacteria can be spread and create toxins in canned food, processed meat, and other processed food. Make sure to store these types of food in the refrigerator or freezer!
You can prevent food poioning by frequently washing your hands clean and cooking food thoroughly before eating. Use different kitchen tools for different ingredients, and avoid storing food at room temperature!
We hope that you spend the rest of the summer eating delicious food without getting sick. :)
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