Deterrence/Prevention:
Food poisoning caused by infectious agents is prevented by the following: Proper food-handling techniques; strict personal hygiene; adequate cooking; avoidance of cross- contamination of raw and cooked foods; keeping food at appropriate temperatures (ie, 140°F for hot items); proper maintenance of vending machines and avoidance of acidic beverages in metallic containers prevent heavy metal poisoning; avoiding eating wild mushrooms prevents mushroom poisoning; prevention of fish poisoning requires avoidance of large tropical fish (ciguatera poisoning) and compliance with seasonal or emergency quarantines of shellfish harvesting areas (shellfish poisoning); raw or undercooked milk, poultry, eggs, meat, and seafood are best avoided.
Local health authorities should be notified if an outbreak of food poisoning occurs. This leads to appropriate actions to prevent further spread of food poisoning. Irradiation of food (ie, the use of ionizing radiation or ionizing energy to treat foods, either packaged or in bulk form) can eliminate food-borne pathogens. Annually, more than half a million tons of food is now irradiated worldwide. Treating raw meat and poultry with irradiation at the slaughter plant could eliminate bacteria such as E coli O157:H7 and Salmonella and Campylobacterorganisms. No evidence of adverse health effects is found in the well-controlled clinical trials involving irradiated food.