Agricultural Chemical Contamination 

Poisonous chemicals may be introduced unintentionally through agricultural or industrial contamination of food, water, and soil. Other possible contaminants include toxic metals from various materials contacting foods or beverages and physical objects that enter food during processing or packaging. Read more »

Industrial Chemical Contamination

Mercury, lead, cleansing agents, and other chemicals used by industry sometimes contaminate foods and lead to foodborne illness. Mercury poisoning has occurred in people who consumed fish from waters contaminated with mercury. Plants grown near a metal refinery, or even next to roads with heavy traffic, may have unsafe levels of lead. Read more »

Seafood Toxins - Red Tide

Various toxins in fish and shellfish may pose a hazard when seafood are eaten. Shellfish feed on dinoflagellates, small marine animals that are responsible for illnesses associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and diarrheic shellfish poisoning. Read more »

Histamine Food Poisoning

Excessive histamine accumulation in tuna, tuna-like fish, mahi-mahi, and bluefish, which can occur when the fish have not been chilled immediately after being caught, Read more »

Pufferfish Poisoning

One of the most violent poisonings originating from seafood occurs when the liver, gonads, intestines, and/or skin of the pufferfish are consumed. These organs contain tetrodotoxin, the consumption of which results in a mortality rate of 50 percent. Read more »

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

This is the most common form of toxin-related food poisoning in the United States. It is caused by eating fish that contain a ciguatoxin. The toxin has been found in over 400 varieties of fish, with fish from tropical waters being particularly suspect. Read more »

Natural Toxicants

Certain plants and animals contain natural toxins, which when consumed result in side effects ranging from mild gastrointestinal problems to death. Read more »

Protozoa

The simplest type of animal, consisting of just one cell, protozoa most frequently infect humans through contaminated water. About 30 different types of protozoa are parasites in humans, but the three related to food safety are Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Cyclospora. Read more »

Herring Worms and Codworms

Anisakis simplex (herring worm) and Pseudoterranova dicipiens (codworm) infections are brought on by the consumption of contaminated raw fish. Even though there are only about 10 known cases a year, many cases are believed to go unreported. The fish species common in North America that might carry these worms include Pacific red snapper, Pacific salmon, and Atlantic cod. Read more »

Trichinclla spiralis

Parasites infect people in many parts of the world, but in the United States, fewer than 500 cases of parasitic infection are reported each year. Two of the common foodborne parasites are roundworms and protozoa. Read more »