Avoiding Food Poisoning In Tunisia

Food poisoning outbreaks in Tunisia have increased during the past few years and many holidaymakers have become sick after eating contaminated food at all inclusive hotel buffets.

To help you avoid food poisoning in Tunisia during your holiday, food handlers should always consider the following:

Carbon dioxide is sometimes used in conjunction with refrigeration to reduce the rate of spoilage of fresh meat, fruits, vegetables and eggs. The optimum concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere varies depending on the type of food. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can cause tissue damage and produce 'off' flavors.

Irradiating food with gamma rays is an effective method of destroying both pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in foods such as raw chicken, fruit, vegetables, spices, shellfish and cereals. There is very little change, if any, in the taste or texture of the food as a result of irradiation. Irradiated food is considered to be perfectly safe to eat but there is a great reluctance by members of the public to accept foods that have been treated in this way. Any food that has been irradiated must be labelled accordingly.

Irradiation can be used to destroy Salmonella in animal feeds. If all feeds were treated in this way there would be a significant reduction in the number of animals carrying Salmonella. The expense of the process is the main prohibitive factor.

Clostridium botulinum is found in soil and therefore on vegetables. It is also found in fish caught in some areas, notably the waters around Japan. It can produce a spore which will survive ordinary cooking methods but the toxin produced by it is not heat resistant and will usually be destroyed by boiling for a few minutes.

Most cases of botulism (food poisoning caused by C. botulinum) have occurred after eating understerilised canned food or food in faulty cans which has been contaminated after sterilisation. Food manufacturers take great care that all C. botulinum spores are destroyed in processing and only very rarely have commercially canned foods been the cause of this type of food poisoning. In the United States of America some people can their own vegetables and this has sometimes caused botulism. A Japanese delicacy of raw fermented fish has also caused outbreaks of botulism.

The symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, which is one of the most common forms of food related illness, usually occur between 12 and 18 hours after eating the contaminated food and include abdominal pain and profuse diarrhoea, often with vomiting and fever. The illness lasts from 2 to 5 days.

E.coli is a small rod shaped bacterium. It is present in the intestinal tract of healthy people and is not normally pathogenic, but there are a few types which are capable of causing diarrhoea in young children (usually under two years old). Adults may also become affected when travelling abroad. 'Travellers diarrhoea' is usually caused by a type of E. coli which is not generally found in the travellers home country but may be widespread in certain holiday resorts. The symptoms which usually occur between 12 and 24 hours after eating the contaminated food are abdominal pain, fever, diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting.

E. coli is used as an indicator organism in food analysis. The presence of E. coli in food suggests that the food has at some stage been contaminated from a faecal source and therefore implies that there is a potential risk of the presence of more harmful intestinal organisms such as Salmonella.

Holiday illness in Tunisia should not go unreported. Speak to a holiday illness when you return to the UK, who will assess your claim and let you know if you have a strong case for compensation. A no win, no fee solicitor will not charge you a penny to make a claim.