'Bacteria will survive': Microbiologist offers tips on making this holiday season food-poisoning free
CTV
Food-borne illness – commonly known as food poisoning – is caused by eating food with germs on it.
Food-borne illness – commonly known as food poisoning – is caused by eating food with germs on it.
Those germs can come from just about anywhere and be spread to just about anything – including your dinner guests.
With many people getting ready to welcome family and friends around the table, here are some tips on how to make holiday feasting as germ-free as possible.
According to the federal government, about four million Canadians get food poisoning each year.
Symptoms of the most common culprits - norovirus, listeria, salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter – include diarrhea, vomiting and fever.
"If you buy this wonderful turkey for Christmas, you have a 20-per-cent chance of the turkey being contaminated with salmonella and a 40-per-cent chance of the turkey being contaminated with campylobacter," said Dr. Michael Gänzle, a professor of food microbiology at the University of Alberta.
Turkey, like all raw meat, poultry, eggs and fish, is one of most common sources of germs that cause food poisoning.
