"IT MUST'VE BEEN SOMETHING I ATE": An Overview of Food-borne Illness Hungry after playing tennis, Cindy L. heads over to a neighborhood restaurant that happens to be a popular hangout for local retirees. On her way in, she passes a group of senior citizens sitting on plastic chairs outside the restaurant door, greeting friends who stream in for a bite to eat. Inside the restaurant, everyone seems oblivious to the fact that their lives may be in danger. The peril isn't an armed robber, a ticking bomb under the cash register, or even a grease fire. The threat is dangerous food-borne microorganisms that are tasteless, odorless, and invisible to the naked eye. A glance around the restaurant reveals a confluence of human errors that could lead to abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, long-term disability, or even death for anyone who eats at the restaurant that day--particularly the most elderly patrons. Waitresses wipe tables with dirty cloths.

Behind the lunch counter, three dozen eggs, which should be refrigerated, are stacked next to the grill. The cook uses the same spatula to flip partially cooked hamburgers and to remove fully cooked hamburgers from the grill. The server nonchalantly sticks her thumb into the pancakes as she delivers them to Cindy's table. To top it all off, the pancakes are slightly raw inside. Cindy has read about food-borne diseases, and she is outraged by her experience at the restaurant. This book will show you why--from a microscopic point of view--she has every right to be. More important, Safe Eatingwill help you protect yourself and your family from food-borne infections by explaining: How bacteria, viruses, and parasites can infiltrate food and drinking water, and which foods are most vulnerable to these biological hazards; What government and industry can and cannot do to protect you from food-borne infections; Why certain people are at high risk of contracting a food-borne disease; Why CampylobacterandSalmonellahave become the most common causes of food-borne illness, and whyEscherichia coliO157:H7 is among the most deadly; Why more virulent strains of bacteria are emerging, intensifying the need for everyone to follow safe food-handling practices; How these "bugs" wreak havoc inside the human body, and which, if any, treatments can help; When to seek medical attention, and how to help your doctor diagnose a food-borne disease; How to reduce the risk of eating contaminated food at home and in daycare centers, nursing homes, restaurants, and other settings. As a consumer, you have more control over eating safely than you probably realize.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 85 percent of identified cases of food-borne infections stem from two primary sources: failure to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold, and poor hand-washing practices. The Scope of Food-borne Illness Each year in the United States, millions of people experience food-borne infections, but only a tiny fraction of these cases are ever recognized or reported. Since 1980, various researchers have come up with estimates.