Foodborne Illness

Erin C. is a 27-year-old professional woman who describes a recent bout of “the 24-hour flu” she experienced after eating out with friends over the weekend. She reports feeling an upset stomach at work on Monday with an increase in symptoms that developed into severe abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and some bloody diarrhea, continuing into the evening. She called her doctor the next morning and reported what she had eaten the day before she developed symptoms: 2 glasses of wine, broiled rare steak with mushroom sauce, baked potato with sour cream and butter, and an assorted greens salad with oil and vinegar dressing from the salad bar where she was dining with friends. Earlier on that same day, she had eaten leftovers from her refrigerator-a small pork chop, spinach salad, and a glass of milk from a local organic dairy.

1. Based on information in Table 19-1, which of Erin’s symptoms would cause you to suspect that she had a food-borne illness rather than the flu?

2. What foods that Erin ingested are frequent sources of food-borne illness?

3. Based on the information in this chapter, what questions would help you identify the likely cause of Erin’s food-borne illness?

4. Besides calling her doctor for persistent symptoms, what dietary measures are important for Erin’s recovery?

5. Knowing that she prefers to eat rare-cooked meat, what precautionary advice could you offer Erin in reference to Figure 19-4?

6. Based on this experience, suggest one practical action from each of the four simple rules outlined in the “How To” section on page 628 that may protect Erin from food-borne illness in the future.