FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL DIANA CARVAJAL ALDAZ Ph.D.

TOXICOLOGY
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1. INTOXICATIONS
2. INFECTIONS
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• Of the diseases caused by food consumption those produced
by bacteria are the most abundant
• According to CDC, illness from microorganism are growing
• Causes:
1. Now we have better epidemiological indicators, ways to
denounce and ways to detect
2. Last decades people have changed their lifestyles and their
food consumption
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• More variety of fruits and vegetables that comes from other
countries with different standards of quality
• Less emphasis to teach the properly preparation of food
• Most of the population consume food outside their homes
where food pass from hand to hand which increase the
chances of contamination
• Nowadays, consumers demand more raw and less processes
food
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• Food distribution is more globalized…. Big productions can
increase the cross contamination
• Microorganisms are developing resistant to some antibiotics…
abuse has increased the incidence and decreased the ability
to treat a disease caused by microorganisms
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• We also have part of the blame since we do not have good
practices at home
• Diseases transmitted by food contaminated with microorganisms
can be infections or intoxications
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INFECTION: caused by the ingestion of live microorganisms that

invade the body or produce toxins that cause disease. Symptoms
are delayed because it depends on the incubation period
(virulence of the pathogen and the amount of pathogen ingested)
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INTOXICATION: caused by the ingestion of toxins produced by

microorganisms that cause disease and the symptoms appear
relatively fast
 INTOXICATIONS

Bacillus Cereus Clostridium Staphylococci

Botulinum
 Salmonella

Campilobacter
Jejuni
Enteropatogenic
Clostridium
Perfringens
Enteroinvasive
Scherichia Coli
INFECTIONS Enterotoxigenic
Listeria
Monocytogenes
Enterohemorrhagic
Shigella

Vibrio

Yersenia
Enterocolítica