Staph Food Poisoning: Symptoms, Causes and Prevention

What staph food poisoning is

Staph food poisoning is caused by toxins, not by an infection. When Staphylococcus aureus gets into food and the food sits at the wrong temperature, the bacteria multiply and release toxins. Eating those toxins makes you sick.¹

This is different from a staph skin infection. The illness comes from what the bacteria left behind in the food, which is why it strikes fast and passes fairly quickly. It’s also why the food can seem perfectly fine.

Symptoms and timing

Symptoms usually start suddenly, anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours after eating. They include:¹

• Nausea
• Vomiting, which can be severe
• Stomach cramps
• Diarrhea

Some people also get a headache or a mild fever.³ Symptoms tend to come on hard and fast, which can be scary, but they usually fade just as quickly. Most people feel better within 24 hours, and severe cases are uncommon.¹ Very young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to become seriously ill, and heavy vomiting can lead to dehydration.³

Foods most often involved

The riskiest foods are those that aren’t cooked after people handle them, such as:¹

• Sliced deli meats
• Puddings and custards
• Cream-filled pastries
• Sandwiches

These foods get handled a lot during prep and aren’t heated again afterward, which gives staph from hands a chance to settle in. Milk, processed meats and fish have also been linked to outbreaks.³ The tricky part is that tainted food can look and smell normal, so you can’t judge it by a sniff test.³ Cooked foods can cause it too if they sit between 40°F and 140°F for too long, like a tray of ham left on the counter.¹ Picnics, potlucks and buffets deserve extra care, since food often sits out for hours.

How food gets contaminated

It usually starts with hands. The CDC estimates that about 1 in 4 people carry staph, and it gets into food when they handle it without washing their hands first.¹ People with skin infections should not prepare food for others.³

Then time and temperature do the rest. Staph multiplies in food kept between 40°F and 140°F.¹ Once the toxin forms, cooking or reheating won’t remove it. Heat kills the bacteria, but the toxin stays.¹ That’s why smelling food, tasting it, or heating it longer is not a safe test.

How to prevent it

Prevention comes down to two things: clean hands, and keeping food either cold or hot.

• Wash your hands with soap and water before you prepare or serve food.²
• Keep food out of the “danger zone” between 40°F and 140°F.²
• Refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if it’s 90°F or hotter.²
• Keep cold foods at 40°F or below, and hot foods at 140°F or above, at picnics and parties.⁴
• If you have a cut or sore on your hands, let someone else make the food.³
• Pack lunches with deli meat or cream fillings with an ice pack so they stay at 40°F or below.⁴

For everyday habits that help beyond the kitchen, see how to lower your risk of staph.

Getting through it

The main job is to replace lost fluids. Sip water or other fluids often, even if you can only keep down a little at a time.⁵ Small, frequent sips are often easier to keep down than big gulps. Water, clear broth or an oral rehydration drink from the pharmacy are all good choices. Antibiotics don’t help, because they don’t affect the toxin.¹ Lab tests on food are usually done only during outbreaks.¹ For one person, a doctor can usually tell what’s going on from the symptoms.³ Rest until you feel like yourself again, which for most people is within a day.¹

When to see a doctor

Call a doctor if you or someone you care for has:⁵

• A fever over 102°F
• Bloody diarrhea
• Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days
• Vomiting so often that liquids won’t stay down
• Signs of dehydration: peeing very little, a dry mouth and throat, or dizziness when standing

Keep sipping fluids while you wait to be seen.⁵

If the person who is sick is a baby, an older adult, pregnant, or has a weakened immune system, call their doctor early rather than waiting it out.

Get urgent care or call 911 for confusion, fainting, trouble breathing, or a baby who seems very sick or very drowsy.

A good rule for next time: when in doubt about food that sat out too long, throw it out.