Foodborne illness or food poisoning is caused by consuming food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses, prions or parasites.

Such contamination usually arises from improper handling, preparation or storage of food.

Foodborne illness can also be caused by adding pesticides or medicines to food, or by accidentally consuming naturally poisonous substances.

Contact between food and pests, especially flies, rodents and cockroaches, is a further cause of contamination of food.

For more information about the topic Foodborne illness, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Pathogen — A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. The term is most often used for agents that disrupt ...  > read more

Salmonella infection — Salmonellosis is an infection with Salmonella bacteria. Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 6 to 72 ...  > read more

Transmission (medicine) — In medicine, transmission is the passing of a disease from an infected individual or group to a previously uninfected individual or group. In order ...  > read more

Botulism — Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin, botulin, that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botulin ...  > read more

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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