Bacteria, viruses and chemicals

Bacteria
Bacteria are the main causative agent of food poisoning. In some countries, the bacteria are often
referred to as 'bugs'. Bacteria are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked human eye. They are everywhere they live in the air, in soil, in water, on and inside people, in and on the food that one cooks. Not all bacteria are harmful; some bacteria are friends of chefs as they help in production of cheese and yoghurt. Such friendly bacteria are known as 'commensals'. Some bacteria help in decaying and rotting of food and are called 'spoilage bacteria'. Many are pathogenic and the most common types found in the food are as follows:
Salmonella-found in eggs and poultry
Staphylococcus aureus-found on human skin, nose, ears, and hands
Clostridium perfringens-found in the facces and sewage
• Clostridium botulinum-found in fish intestines, soil; this bacteria is a concern in the bottling and
canning industries, as it can withstand high temperature
and intestines of animals
Bacteria enjoy temperatures between 5 and 62°C. This is usually termed as 'danger zone'. So cold food should be stored and served at a temperature lower than 4°C and hot food at above 63°C. Most bacteria will, get killed in food that is held at 70°C but to ensure that food is cooked thoroughly we must
cook the food till the internal temperature of food reaches 74°C.
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Viruses
Viruses are even smaller than bacteria. For survival they must live in a host body. Viruses are responsible for illnesses as common as the common cold or as dangerous as smallpox and polio. Viruses have the ability to change form and
this ability has led to a number of known strains of hepatitis, and in order to track them, the medical profession has given each strain an identifying letter, such as A, B, C, D, and E. Virus usually spreads through the faecal-oral route. One has to be very careful when purchasing seafood; it should be pro-
cured from trustworthy sources as most of the seafood is bred in sewage polluted water. However,
thorough cooking will kill the virus. The vegetables grown in sewage polluted water are also a prime cause of viral food infections.
Chemicals
Chemical poisoning, metal poisoning, and poisonous plant poisoning are all caused by the careless-
ness or ignorance of those handling such commodities. Always read the instruction labels for use of
cleaning materials and store them away from food in a specific storeroom or an area designated for the same. Many a times, it has been seen that the cleaning chemical is stored in empty mineral water bottles and sometimes during busy operations one can easily mistake it for water,