03-01-2017, 01:55 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Kapoho Joe
Just working through my symptoms here and am wondering if there is a stomach flu going around or did I get some bad food? Anyone?
That's kind of a trick question because there isn't a clear definition between "food poisoning" and "stomach [bug, flu, virus, etc]". (Insert standard disclaimer that influenza is a respiratory illness and although its a commonly used term, there is no such thing as a "stomach flu").
Even the Mayo Clinic website lists food poisoning along with infections that aren't usually transmitted by food under the broad definition "Food Poisoning". And there are a lot of stomach illnesses that you can get from either a handrail OR a salad.
All that being said, if I understand the question correctly, did you get sick from something you ate? You may never know, but if multiple people get sick from eating the same thing, they usually get sick within 2-6 hours of eating it. As I understand it, most stomach ailments aren't actually caused by something you ate, the bugs that cause them can be on surfaces or even in the air. Sometimes that surface is a food surface, so there is always overlap.
That was the medical answer (disclaimer, I am not a medical professional). If I remember my restaurant days correctly, "food poisoning" was caused by food adulterated with a toxin or chemical. Botulism, for example, is a toxin excreted by bacteria. Even if you cook and kill the bacteria, the toxin remains. The botulism toxin can be destroyed by prolonged boiling (over 10 minutes), some mushroom toxins cannot be made safe by cooking. Another type of food adulteration (poisoning) example would be like if a restaurant worker added bleach or some other chemical to a recipe instead of the intended ingredient. (It happens a lot more frequently than you think). There was recently a case where child with a peanut allergy died (or almost died? I don't remember) because on the "special instructions" for the meal ticket for a grilled cheese sandwich, they put "no peanut products". English wasn't the cook's first language and mistook the instructions to mean "add peanut butter".