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poisoning. Investigation revealed that this outbreak was
probably caused by veal and ham pie, prepared in the Works
Canteen, being contaminated. The food was prepared the day
before it was consumed.
It will be seen from the foregoing that it is usually difficult
to identify the organisms responsible even with prompt enquiry,
especially if re-cooked food is implicated ; the suspected article
has generally been thrown away and is not available for bacteriological
examination.
The investigation of cases of food poisoning presents great
difficulties. Notifications are frequently received too late
owing to delay on the part of the patients to seek medical
attention promptly, with the result that samples of the suspected
food are rarely available for bacteriological examination. In
many cases, it is difficult even to obtain clear information as to
what food the patient had consumed prior to the onset of the
illness. Sometimes, the malady is alleged to be due to a meal
or snack consumed at a restaurant or cafe and the patient is
unable to remember the name or exact location of such establishment.
It would seem that in most cases food poisoning results not
so much from failure to comply with the legislation governing
the storage, preparation or sale of food, but from such human
failures as are referred to in the opening remarks of this article.
It is a matter for surprise, not that food poisoning is so prevalent,
but that its incidence is not a great deal higher than it is.