How does it happen?
The time between the consumption of contaminated food and the appearance of the first symptoms is the incubation period. This period ranges from a few hours to several days and depends on the agent involved and the amount consumed. If the symptoms appear within 1-6 hours of eating the food, it should be assumed that it was caused by a toxin rather than by bacteria.
During the incubation period, the microbial agent moves from the stomach into the intestine, attaches to the intestinal wall, and begins to multiply. Some pathogens remain in the intestines, others produce a toxin that enters the bloodstream, and others may invade body tissues directly. The resulting symptoms depend on the type of infectious agent involved.
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