How can foods be contaminated

Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Production Production means growing the plants we harvest or raising the animals we use for food.

Related Pages. Norovirus and Working With Food. Get Email Updates. What's this? Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Some kinds can case illness in humans. Symptoms of E. How is foodborne illness spread?

How are foodborne illnesses prevented? The best way to help prevent you or your family from getting sick from foodborne illness is to: Make sure that everyone uses good hand washing - that means always washing hands before preparing food and before eating food. Foods that are hot should be kept hot and not allowed to sit at room temperature for more than a few minutes Foods that are cold must be kept cold, kept on ice and not at room temperature for more than a few minutes.

Do not allow the juices of uncooked meats to drip onto fresh fruits or vegetables. Keep foods covered and control flies by the use of screens. How do I know how to buy food that is safe? Shop carefully. Look for a USDA inspection stamp on meats. All food is at risk of one of the four types of contamination: chemical, microbial, physical, and allergenic.

Food poisoning, injury, and allergic reactions are all consequences of contamination but, by following safe working practices, you can help to prevent them all. Her favourite article is How to Plan a Bake Sale. Skip to content. What are the Four Types of Food Contamination? Ellie Collier.

The Four Types of Contamination There are four main types of contamination: chemical, microbial, physical, and allergenic. Like This Article? Post Author Ellie Collier. Ellie started writing for the Hub in and is passionate about keeping people safe.

Ellie specialises in safeguarding, education and health and social care and is dedicated to ensuring that our content in these three areas makes a difference in people's lives. You may also like. A food that is fully cooked can become re-contaminated if it touches other raw foods or drippings from raw foods that contain pathogens. Prevent Cross-Contamination Cross-contamination is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another. Storage and Cooking Temperatures Many pathogens need to multiply to a larger number before enough are present in food to cause disease.

In general, refrigeration or freezing prevents virtually all bacteria from growing. If food is heated sufficiently, parasites, viruses and most bacteria are killed.