Certified Food Safety Programs

What’s the difference between foodborne infection and a food poisoning? Both can cause illness with similar symptoms, like nausea and upset stomach, and both can be caused by germs. Bacteria or viruses or parasites can get into your body through food and start to grow. That is the infection. It usually takes more than 24 hours for those creatures to grow enough to bring on your symptoms. Some types of bad germs (pathogens) need weeks. Food poisonings are often caused by bacteria too – as wells as molds or algae. Usually (but not always) the pathogen doesn’t grow in your body – but it grows in food that you eat. As it grows in food it makes toxins or poisons that aren’t not able to be broken down by your body. The more the pathogen grows in the food, the more the poison accumulate. Food poisoning usually occurs within hours of eating contaminated food – and sometimes within minutes. So, whenever you have symptoms from eating bad food, it can either be due to food that was eaten a few days ago or to food that was eaten recently. The more you know!

Copper sure is pretty! But did you know that the metal can leach into food and cause toxic accumulation in the liver? Acids in foods react with the metal, dissolving it and causing it to deposit into food. That's why copper needs a liner of stainless steel or another non-reactive material when it will be in contact with moist foods-per food code regulations.

Did you know that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick from foodborne illness? And most of these cases can be traced to a local foodservice! Certified Food Safety Programs offers several courses and audit assessments to help prevent the preventable-contact us to learn more!