• Question: what food, in general, always tends to cause food poisoning? please describe the bacteria in them

    Asked by shahc001 to Emma, Jimmy, Janet, Niall, Simon on 13 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Janet Daly

      Janet Daly answered on 13 Mar 2013:

      Usually, it’s food that has come from animals (e.g. eggs and meat) that hasn’t been cooked properly…and tends to be bacteria like salmonella and listeria. Some of my colleagues here at the vet school are researching ways to help prevent chickens and other animals from being infected so that they cannot pass the bacteria on to people.

    • Photo: Simon Park

      Simon Park answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      To add to Janet’s reply below, the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK is a bacterium called Campylobacter jejuni which causes around 500,000 cases every year. It’s usually found on chicken meat so you need to be careful how you cook and handle raw chicken.

    • Photo: Niall Crawford

      Niall Crawford answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      The one which surprises me is reheating rice, which is often a cause for food poisoning.

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