Precautions :

Food –borne illness is an ever present threat that can be prevented with proper care and handling of food products. Some people are at greater risk for bacterial infections because of their age or immune status. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with lowered immunity are at greater risk. Patients with gastrointestinal problems too are at high risk of getting food poisoning.
Poor personal hygiene, improper cleaning of storage and preparation areas and unclean utensils cause contamination of raw and cooked foods. Mishandling of raw and cooked foods allows bacteria to grow. Proper storage of food is an important part of reducing the risk of food poisoning. Foods must be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within short period of time.
Precautions should include adequate cooking and avoidance of recontamination of cooked food by contaminated equipment and water. Wash hands, food preparation surfaces and utensils thoroughly before and after handling raw foods to prevent recontamination of cooked foods. While reusing the refrigerated food, one should heat it properly, because simply warming at temperature not very high (20-45 degree C) activates the spores that start reproducing.

Diagnosis:

Diagnosis is based on the symptoms of food poisoning. The symptoms from the most common types of food poisoning generally start within 2 to 6 hours of eating the infected food. This time may be longer or shorter, depending on toxin or organism responsible for the food poisoning. The doctor may be able to diagnose the food-borne illness from a list of what you have recently eaten and from results of laboratory tests.
Diagnostic tests for food-borne illness include examination of faeces. A sample of suspected food, if available, can also be tested for bacteria and their toxins. Less common but much more serious symptoms include : respiratory distress, including need for support on a breathing machine, kidney problems, bleeding disorders, arthritis and nervous system disorders.

Treatment:

One can usually recover from the most common types of food poisoning within a couple of days. Most cases of food-borne illness are mild and can be treated by increasing fluid intake, either orally or intravenously, to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. In cases with gastrointestinal or neurological symptoms, people should seek medical attention. In the most severe situations, the patient may need hospitalization in order to receive supportive nutritional and medical therapy. Dehydration is the most common complication. This can occur from any of the causes of food poisoning. Maintaining adequate fluid and electrolyte balance and controlling blood pressure are important. Doctors will try to minimize the impact of reduced kidney function.