Foodborne Infection and Intoxication
The distinction between illness caused by viable foodborne agents that infect or multiply in the host and illness caused by toxins already present in food or produced after ingestion.
Foodborne infection follows ingestion of viable pathogens, while intoxication follows ingestion of a preformed toxin. Some organisms produce toxin after ingestion, creating a mixed toxicoinfection model.
Bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxins differ in dose, incubation, persistence and control. A generic food-poisoning label should not be used to infer the mechanism.
Cooking may kill vegetative cells yet fail to remove a heat-stable toxin already formed. Conversely, preventing toxin formation does not replace control of infectious pathogens.
Preserve product, lot identity, formulation, time-temperature records, symptoms and distribution information. Epidemiology and laboratory evidence carry more weight than sensory impressions.
Hold potentially affected lots, stop the failed route and follow competent-authority reporting, withdrawal or recall requirements. Reheating is not a universal rescue treatment.
Apply hygiene, supplier control, lethality, cooling, fermentation, drying and storage controls to the relevant hazard. The Codex should state which mechanism each control addresses.
Related in the Codex
References
- https://www.who.int/health-topics/foodborne-diseases
- https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/prevention/index.html
- https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/hazard-analysis-critical-control-point-haccp
- https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/codes-of-practice/en/