What to do in case of food poisoning?

See your doctor if concerned about your health. If the symptoms are severe or if the person is elderly, a very young child or immuno-compromised SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE IMMEDIATELY. It is of particular concern if the person has signs of bloody diarrhoea. The doctor may ask the food poisoning sufferer to provide a specimen of faeces (bowel movement) to help with the diagnosis.

Food poisoning is an illness generally caused by eating food contaminated with harmful bacteria or viruses. Many people blame the last meal they ate before they got ill; however this is often not the case. Depending on the type and amount of harmful organisms consumed, illness can occur within an hour to many days after eating the contaminated food; in most cases symptoms develop one to five days after eating the affected food. Another complicating factor is that vomiting and diarrhoea are commonly caused by a gastro virus that is spread by person-to-person contact and is not food borne. Outbreaks from such viruses are often reported in the media when they occur on cruise ships.

Reporting and investigation

Identifying the cause of a food poisoning incident typically results from the analysis of a number of illness reports by people who have eaten food at a common location or have eaten food distributed by one manufacturer.

If you believe a particular food may have been the cause of food poisoning, or you are aware of persons who have become ill after eating the same meal or attending the same event, contact your local council Environmental Heath Officer. The Local Government Association website will help you to locate the Council for a particular town or suburb.

Because of the difficulty of confidently attributing illness to a particular food or premises, the Council officer may note a single report of illness until a second report confirms it. Alternatively the officer may schedule a visit to the premises to confirm that good sanitation practices are employed or undertake a full incident investigation, possibly with assistance from officers from the Department of Health if the incident is severe.

If you have food that you suspect may be the cause of food poisoning, keep the food wrapped and in the fridge (preferably not the freezer) and retain the packaging or containers as it may assist the Environmental Health Officer if an assessment of the complaint confirms the suspected source.

The Department of Health generally does not support the analysis of an isolated sample in the absence of additional implicating evidence, as there may be no legal way of establishing that a harmful bacteria or virus, if found to be present, did not contaminate the food after it was purchased.

Information is available on this site on preventing food poisoning in the home and at common food poisoning organisms links below:

Campylobacter  |  Salmonella  |  Viral gastroenteritis  |  HUS

Children and poisons

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