Home
Foodborne illness (food poisoning) happens when someone eats or drink food that is contaminated with harmful germs, like bacteria, parasites, or viruses, or chemicals.
Common signs and symptoms of foodborne illness incude:
You can start feeling sick in just a few hours or over a week after eating or drinking contaminated food. You can be sick for hours or days. If your symptoms are severe, seek medical attention by calling your healthcare provider or going to a walk-in clinic or emergency department.
Keep yourself and your family safe by reading and following the tips in our links and resources below.
If you think you became ill after eating out at a local business or have food safety concerns:
Call the Health Unit at 519-753-4937 ext. 470 or email environmentalhealth@bchu.org
Please provide:
A Public Health Inspector will follow up with you.
For information on how we work to keep the community safe and healthy when eating out at restaurants, visit our Food Safety page.
Foodborne illness (food poisoning) happens when someone eats or drink food that is contaminated with harmful germs, like bacteria, parasites, or viruses, or chemicals.
Common signs and symptoms of foodborne illness are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps or pain, dehydration or fever. You can start feeling sick hours to over a week after eating or drinking contaminated food. You can be sick for hours to over a week. If your symptoms are severe, seek medical attention by calling your healthcare provider or going to a walk-in clinic or emergency department.
If you think you became ill after eating out at a local business or have food safety concerns:
Please provide:
A Public Health Inspector will follow up with you and may ask you to submit a stool sample to help in their investigation. If you have leftover food, the Public Health Inspector may want to collect it and send it away for testing, so keep it cold in the refrigerator.
Food Safety
Seasonal Food Safety
Food Safety Videos
Food Safety Infographics
