5 Aug
This is an acute food-borne illness that results from eating food contaminated with bacteria, toxins, parasites or viruses.
Common culprits: Poorly cooked meat, raw foods and unwashed vegetables. These harbor germs that cause food poisoning.
More often: Food poisoning occurs through contaminated meat, poultry, eggs, milk and seafood.
Common pathogens (bacteria that cause disease): Salmonella, E coli, Campylobacter, Giardia and some viruses such as Norwalk. Sometimes, eating toxic mushrooms can also cause symptoms of food poisoning.