A wave of pain washed over me, gnawing at the insides of my stomach. I awoke breathing heavily,sick with dread. Thousands of angry, desperate wasps were trying to thump their way out from my poor stomach. Beads of sweat formed at the crests of my hot forehead. And the raspiness of my breath, echoed off the mud walls creating a horrific sound of a death threat. All I could see was a wash of bloody red. I ripped off my torn sheets, sitting on the stingy mattress clutching at my frail torso and started to pray  that the pain would eventually cease. The minutes began to turn to hours, and the hours turned to days. About forty eight million people are affected due to food contamination, and three thousand disappear from our world every year.  When can we stop this nightmare from ruining the lives of others? Food illnesses are often caused  from the improper handling of food, the lack of heat, and  improper sanitation. It often causes one to become nauseous, have a high fever, abdominal pains, vomiting, and watery diarrhea.  It causes many  Over the past few years alone there is a startling of number of deaths from the result of food contamination. Each year the percentage rate of those suffering from this disease has now climbed up to thirty percent. Food contamination can be unpredictable  and affect a massive population at a single time. However it is possible to have precautions that may benefit us. Awareness, minimized processing, and  supervision of food processing contribute to the control of foodborne illnesses.

“You may give a man a fish, and he will be satisfied for a day, or teach a man to fish, and he will be satisfied forever. “Knowledge is one important factor that is able break the chain of food borne illnesses.The more educated the work force is, the more productive and  advanced the citizens will be able to become. In an underdeveloped country, there is an increasing number of food borne illnesses compared to a developed country. The  lack of understanding about food borne diseases can be risky.  With no understanding of the deadly diseases that are among us, many citizens in other countries are living in the dark. Knowledge and understanding the risks and precautions of food contamination, goes deeper than fixing this problem for a short period of time, it goes on for much longer. People who are affected, can take measures to protect themselves and the ones they love.With the improvement of education there is more intellectual about the certain types of food and how to recognize diseases to perform the tasks necessary to handle food safely. However there are other prominent actions that can be performed to stop the spread of the disease, and to focus on the process of how the food is handled before reaching our plates.

Where does our food come from? Where has it been? There are many answers that arise from these questions. However, the longer the processing of our food, there are more chances for the food to be contaminated by harmful germs( E.Coli and Hepatitis A.) By minimizing the processing of our food, those chances are reduced. Some companies have even gone the extra step to add tracking GPS stickers on their products to ensure food safety in the time when a disease spreads out. Enforcing the food standards are also key, and the foods should be scrutinized by the tests. The standards of the test have to be extremely strict and there can be no exceptions.The short time pain is for the long term gain. At first, the process will be costly. But it will be worth it, compared to the millions of citizens becoming sick every year. Secondly, the most effective way to prevent food poisoning is to wash our hands. Our hands carry millions of different types of bacteria. Washing our hands is a simple task, and minimizes that chances of becoming sick, incredibly thin.Preventable measures can be taken to stop the spread of the disease, but there can still  be disastrous outbreaks. In the time of an outbreak, there should be an enforcement of surveillance around the outbreak, to control and monitor the process. The information from the outbreak will be able to guide doctors and researchers on how to prevent the illness if it happens in the future.

Before any famous discovery  can abolish all food illnesses, there are many strategies that can be used to tackle it. Education is key, especially for developing countries where many citizens lack the knowledge to handle food properly. Opening the eyes of the clueless citizens, that are in the dark about what they could be exposed to. Furthermore, modern society has made huge advancements in technology, however developed countries are still at risk. From the primary producer to the consumer, the entire food chain is to be effectively controlled, in the time of a disease outbreak. The food chain is an extremely long process, that often, many different pathogens can be picked up from many different locations, which is why it is best to minimize the process. Food is something one needs to survive, however one can be at risk by not eating it properly.. Working together can decrease the many dangerous viruses lurking out there, and saving one person at time.