These foods should always be purchased from reliable dealers and be kept refrigerated. Staphylococcal poisoning is characterized by a sudden, sometimes violent onset of nausea, vomiting, and weakness. There may be severe diarrhea. It is rarely serious, except in young children, the elderly, or those who are weakened by other illnesses. Symptoms may appear as soon as a half hour or as late as four hours after the contaminated food is eaten.
Salmonella poisoning is the second most common type of food poisoning.
It can be acquired in a similar way to staphylococcal poisoning, although the source is usually a poultry product. The onset of gastroenteritis is usually 12 to 24 hours after ingestion of the contaminated food, with recovery taking from a few days to months, depending on the severity of the incident. The pathologic activity appears to be directly related to local bacterial action within the intestinal lumen and wall rather than from a toxin. There are a number of poisonous berries and over 80 kinds of poisonous mushrooms. Every year people die or become seriously ill because they have decided that one of these looks good enough to eat.