What is food poisoning?

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Food poisoning might be described as a food borne disease. Food that contains a toxin, chemical or infectious agent (like a bacterium, virus, parasite, or prion) and cause symptoms in the body are considered types of food poisoning by most investigators. Those symptoms may be related only to the gastrointestinal tract causing vomiting or diarrhea or may involve other organs such as the kidney, brain or muscle.

Typically most food borne diseases cause vomiting and diarrhea that tend to be short lived and resolve on their own, but dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities may develop. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 million people become ill from food related diseases each year resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.

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