Not Delia » Bacteria

Clostridium perfringens

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:06:37 +0000

Clostridium perfringens is found in virtually all soils, except those of the Sahara desert. It’s one of those nasty spore-forming bacteria which are hard to destroy, and is most commonly a cause of food poisoning where meat or poultry dishes have been left to cool slowly. It’s particularly associated with gravy, pies and large joints [...]

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Campylobacter jejuni

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:42:06 +0000

Campylobacter jejuni is the most important cause of acute diarrhoea in the UK. It is similar in nature to salmonella. This bacterium is associated with raw meat. It can also be present in water. You can reduce the risks of poisoning from these bacteria by good personal hygiene. Always wash your hands after going to [...]

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Listeria

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:39:33 +0000

Listeria bacteria can grow in the fridge. These bacteria are mostly associated with: Unpasteurised cheese Paté Cook-chill products And the people most at risk from this type of poisoning are: Elderly Very young Pregnant women Thoroughly reheating would kill the bacteria but that’s not really an option for many of the products in this category. [...]

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Bacillus cereus

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:37:34 +0000

Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming bacterium and is associated with cereals and cooked rice. Once again, the way to reduce the risks of poisoning is by temperature control. If you’re saving cooked rice for another meal, don’t leave the food lingering in the temperature danger zone – chill it as quickly as possible. (For example, [...]

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Staphylococcus aureus

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:35:15 +0000

This is associated with food being contaminated by toxins from the food handler’s nose and throat. Coughing, sneezing, and actions such as blowing into piping bags can spread these germs. Also face touching (Yuk! And see how often Gordon Ramsay does this) can spread the germs. Tasting food and putting the spoon back in is [...]

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Salmonella

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:32:33 +0000

Salmonella food poisoning is usually associated with eggs and poultry. Please see our article “A good egg?” where we discuss the risks in more detail. Salmonella can also be present in both human and animal intestines, so good personal hygiene can help to prevent salmonella poisoning. Wash your hands after using the toilet and after [...]

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Common Forms of Food Poisoning Bacteria

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:29:53 +0000

The most common forms of food poisoning bacteria are: Salmonella Clostridium perfringens Staphyloccus aureus Bacillus cereus Campylobacter jejuni Listeria monocytogenes E. coli We will look at each of these in turn in the next articles of this series. This is Chapter Two, Part Five in a series of articles broadly similar to the course [...]

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The Danger Zone

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:27:00 +0000

We’ve already seen the four conditions required for bacteria to multiply: Food Moisture Warmth Time We’ve also looked at high risk foods. Now let’s look at the other conditions in more detail. Moisture Bacteria need moisture to grow and this can be found in many high risk foods. Bacteria are much less likely to survive [...]

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High Risk Foods

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:23:14 +0000

Those foods which are classified as being “high risk foods” are implicated in at least 75% of all food poisoning cases. High risk foods include: Cooked meat and poultry Dairy products and eggs Shellfish Cooked rice Cooked meat and poultry Cooked meat and products with cooked meat in them, such as gravy, soup, and stocks, [...]

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How bacteria grow

Not Delia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:21:03 +0000

We’ve looked at the basic types of bacteria. Now it’s time to look at where they can crop up. What situations encourage bacteria to grow? Bacteria are living organisms and they need four things to grow and multiply: food moisture warmth time Some foods which are high in protein, rich in nutrients, and contain moisture [...]

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