Foodborne Illness: the Big 6 Pathogens, Allergens and Hazards

Quick quiz: foodborne illness

1. Question 1 of 5 · Illness and contaminationWhich allergen was the most recent addition to the list of major food allergens?

   Sulfites Mustard Celery Sesame

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   Sesame

   Sesame was added as the ninth major food allergen, in line with the FASTER Act. Mustard, celery, and sulfites are recognized allergens in some other countries or require labeling for other reasons, but they are not among the nine US major food allergens.

   Source: FDA Food Code, § 1-201.10(B)

2. Question 2 of 5 · Illness and contaminationWhich pair of conditions does a food establishment most directly control to limit pathogen growth?

   Time and temperature Oxygen and moisture Portion size and plating Packaging and labeling Acidity and water activity Color and texture

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   Time and temperature

   The Code's entire structure for limiting growth rests on time and temperature: cooking, cooling, hot and cold holding, date marking, and time as a public health control. Acidity and water activity matter and appear in the TCS food definition tables, but they are properties of the food rather than levers an operation adjusts during service.

   Source: FDA Food Code, § 3-501.16

3. Question 3 of 5 · Illness and contaminationShiga toxin-producing E. coli infection can progress to which serious condition?

   Reactive arthritis Hemolytic uremic syndrome Liver cirrhosis Guillain-Barre syndrome

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   Hemolytic uremic syndrome

   STEC infections range from mild non-bloody diarrhea to hemorrhagic colitis, which is bloody diarrhea, to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. HUS is the reason STEC is treated as such a serious pathogen and why it appears on the reportable diagnosis list.

   Source: FDA Food Code, § 1-201.10(B)

4. Question 4 of 5 · Illness and contaminationFood that is contaminated through contact with a person's hands or bodily discharges must be

   cooked to 165°F. discarded. reconditioned according to an approved procedure. held pending regulatory review.

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   discarded.

   Food contaminated by employees, consumers or other persons through contact with hands, bodily discharges such as nasal or oral discharges, or other means must be discarded. This is a priority item. Note the contrast with food that is merely unsafe, adulterated or dishonestly presented, which may be discarded or reconditioned under an approved procedure.

   Source: FDA Food Code, § 3-701.11(D)

5. Question 5 of 5 · Illness and contaminationA guest becomes ill within minutes of drinking a carbonated beverage with a metallic taste. The most likely cause is

   Excess carbonation. Histamine in the syrup. Norovirus from the dispensing nozzle. copper leaching into the beverage through a failed carbonator backflow device. Mold in the ice bin. Salmonella from the syrup line.

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   copper leaching into the beverage through a failed carbonator backflow device.

   Rapid onset plus a metallic taste points to chemical rather than microbial contamination. Carbonated water is acidic and dissolves copper from supply lines, which is why the Code requires a dual check valve with an intermediate vent installed upstream of the carbonator and downstream of any copper in the line. Chemical illness appears in minutes; pathogens take hours or days.

   Source: FDA Food Code, § 5-203.15(A)

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