FDA Launches Public Health Campaign to Raise Awareness on Food Poisoning, Its Dangers, and Prevention

In its continuous efforts to promote public health and raise awareness as part of its fourth strategy, the General Authority for Food and Drug Administration has launched a digital awareness campaign to educate people about food poisoning, its causes, and prevention methods. The authority explained that food poisoning is a medical condition that occurs after consuming contaminated food, with no visible signs of damage. It highlighted microbial contamination, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, as well as chemical contamination like natural and industrial toxins, in addition to physical contamination like glass, hair, nails, or iron shavings in food.

Common symptoms of food poisoning include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and watery or bloody diarrhea. The transmission of diseases through food can occur at various stages, whether during farming, manufacturing, transportation and storage, or during preparation and cooking. In terms of prevention, the authority recommended washing hands thoroughly before and after food preparation, storing cold foods at 5 degrees Celsius or lower, hot food at 60 degrees Celsius or higher, while avoiding leaving food at room temperature for more than two hours.

It stressed the importance of separating raw and ready-to-eat food, sanitizing kitchen surfaces and utensils, while also cautioning against washing food with soap or sanitizers. The authority warned of botulism poisoning, one of the rarest and most dangerous types of poisoning caused by toxins released by Clostridium botulinum bacteria under suitable conditions for their growth and activity, such as oxygen-free environments like canned foods, especially home-canned foods, and temperatures ranging between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius, especially room temperatures between 25 and 37 degrees Celsius.

This type of poisoning has several forms, affecting adults after consuming contaminated food, and infants under 12 months due to consuming honey or unsafe foods. This type of poisoning is dangerous, causing symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, facial muscle weakness, difficulty in swallowing and breathing, as well as numbness in limbs, dry throat and mouth. The authority emphasized the importance of good cooking practices, hand and utensil cleanliness, sterilizing home-canned foods, checking ready-to-eat foods for signs of swelling, rust, or changes in appearance, as well as fully separating raw and ready-to-eat food to protect against this rare and severe type of food poisoning.