Children are more susceptible to food poisoning

Jan 9, 2012, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Children are particularly susceptible to food poisoning, with around half of food-related illnesses affecting them, particularly those younger than four.

The German Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) attributes this primarily to inadequate refrigeration, cooling food incorrectly or failing to heat it properly, allowing viruses or bacteria to multiply and produce toxins.

'Children are more susceptible to food-related infections, as a smaller quantity of germs are needed to cause illness, as a result of their lower body weight,' BVKJ spokesman Ulrich Fegeler said.

'Their stomachs produce less in the way of the acids that could neutralize them,' he said, adding that the immune systems of small children are also not fully developed.

Among the symptoms typical of food poisoning are nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and fever. Measures to avoid food poisoning in children include avoiding unpasteurized milk and dairy products, raw and incompletely cooked meat, raw fish and uncooked crustaceans. Eggs should be cooked hard before given to children.

Fridge temperatures should not go above 5 degrees Celsius, and when serving warm left-overs, they should be heated through to at least 70 degrees in order to eliminate certain germs. Fruit should be washed in warm water and dried with a kitchen towel. Children should never be given bean-sprouts or unpasteurized fruit juices.

More general advice is to avoid dented cans and food packaging that is swollen, which indicate spoiled food that is no longer suitable for consumption.