Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.

Why is it super important to watch what you eat? Let’s find out.

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Consuming unsafe foods pose a major public health threat, especially in the African region, endangering everyone. Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with an underlying illness are particularly vulnerable.

The smell, taste and appearance of food and water are not good indicators for determining whether they will make you sick. Just because something looks safe to eat does not mean that it is.
In some cases, it only takes 15-20 bacteria to make someone sick.

Similarly, the accumulation of invisible germs on one’s hands is a common source of transmission that is often overlooked.

This highlights the urgent need to wash one’s hands before and after handling food and after going to the toilet. If a food handler is infected with a virus

and continues to prepare food, this virus may be passed on to the consumer via the food.

Meats, cooked rice & pasta, fruits & vegetables, milk and eggs are common types of food that can become unsafe very fast, either through handling or preparing.

The most common symptoms of foodborne illnesses include stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Symptoms may occur very quickly after eating the food, or may take days or even weeks to appear. For most foodborne illnesses, symptoms occur 24-72 hours after the food has been eaten.

Foodborne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water.

Foodborne diseases may lead to long-lasting disability and death.