Can Coffee Cause Food Poisoning?
Coffee is essential in many homes’ morning routines. There are so many different ways that one can enjoy their coffee, and there are a multitude of places where one can purchase their coffee. When someone is preparing coffee for you, there are many steps that they should be taking to ensure the consumer’s health and safety. It isn’t as easy to get food poisoning from coffee as it is to get it from different foods such as eggs, dairy, meat, or fish. There are, however, multiple factors that could lead to coffee being the cause of your food poisoning.
If you suffered serious injuries and required medical treatment for food poisoning, never wait to discuss possible legal relief with a San Francisco personal injury attorney.
Causes of Food Poisoning in Coffee
When coffee is roasted and prepared properly, it’s quite rare for it to cause food poisoning, but it’s not impossible. Those who are preparing your coffee are required to have their food handlers license to ensure that there is no contamination in what they’re preparing and that the resources are stored properly. If the coffee beans are not stored correctly, it could cause mold to grow, which could, in turn, cause food poisoning to the consumer.
Contamination can occur when a product is left out for too long at room temperature. It is important to remember the food “danger zone,” which indicates the temperatures that hot and cold food and drink items should be at.
The storing of coffee beans is not the only way one could get food poisoning from coffee. Because there are many different ways to consume coffee, there are a multitude of different products that can go into a drink. Whether a drink has syrups, chocolates, powders, or simply just cream and sugar, it is possible that these additions can cause food poisoning.
All of those items have expiration dates that need to be closely monitored. Consuming old milk or creamer can be one of the main reasons one can get food poisoning from drinking coffee. The syrups, chocolates, and other items that are consumed with coffee can also be a cause of food poisoning if they have sat on the shelf past their expiration date or were not stored in the proper conditions.
The appliances used to make coffee can also be a cause of food poisoning. If coffee is being brewed at home, it’s best to ensure that the coffee maker has been cleaned before use. If coffee is being prepared by a barista, it’s important that their espresso machine or coffee makers have been descaled and properly cleaned. Not cleaning these machines can lead to harmful bacteria growing in them, which in turn can lead to food poisoning. The cleanliness of employees is a very important factor in causes of food poisoning.
Employees should be following the health and safety guidelines and practicing proper procedures in food safety. When they do not, food poisoning can occur and cause costly personal injuries.
How to Prevent Food Poisoning
There are many ways to prevent getting food poisoning. The key when brewing coffee at home or cooking at home is to ensure that your utensils have been cleaned, dried, and stored properly. It’s also important to store your food products properly and cook or brew them correctly. If you are ever curious about the best ways to prepare your food and drinks properly, you may wish to consult the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA.
If you tend to take a long time to drink your coffee, it may be best to get a vessel that can keep your coffee at the proper temperature to prevent contamination. If your coffee sits out too long at a lower temperature than initially prepared, it can cause contamination and lead to food poisoning.
When ordering coffee at a coffee shop or restaurant, you should be observant of the employee’s processes if possible. If you see cream or milk sitting out without a way to keep it cool, or if you notice unhygienic practices within the business, it is best not to order your food or drink from there. If you see these things happening at local businesses, you should contact your local public health authority.
What to do if You Have Food Poisoning?
The best way to determine if you’ve gotten food poisoning from coffee is if you typically do not eat first thing. If you haven’t consumed other food or drink when you begin to feel sick, it’s safe to assume that you’ve gotten sick from the coffee.
If you have food poisoning, you should immediately contact your doctor or go to the hospital. It’s important to preserve the remainder of what you’ve eaten and to provide that information to your healthcare provider so they can have a more accurate diagnosis for you. If you ordered coffee from a coffee shop or restaurant, you’ll want to be sure to keep the receipt from the purchase for both your doctor’s and your own records.
After you’ve gotten treatment, if you’ve gotten food poisoning due to a product that you purchased from a company, you may want to contact your local public health department. This will bring on an investigation into the restaurant or coffee shop for improper food handling and other causes of food poisoning.
When getting food poisoning from a restaurant or coffee shop, it can be in your best interest to contact an experienced restaurant injury attorney. It may seem minor; however, a lawyer can help you pursue damages and negotiate settlements with the business or insurance companies. Your lawyer will also assist in getting the best settlement for your case rather than accepting a lowball offer.
A restaurant injury lawyer can tell you what evidence needs to be collected and can help you determine what’s truly essential in your case. Even if you don’t pursue your case further, you can still benefit from discussing your case with an attorney.
Contact a San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you have suffered food poisoning or other serious health complications due to food poisoning, contact the injury attorneys at Cartwright Law Firm today at (415) 433-0444 for a free review of your case.
