Meat
Let these meat sit for several weeks in your fridge, where listeria bacteria can survive and thrive despite the temperature, and you could end up with a fever, muscle aches, or diarrhea the next time you dig in, Hedberg warns.
Berries
Another common source of food poisoning is berries, including strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. A 1997 outbreak that sickened thousands of children via school lunches was traced to hepatitis A-contaminated frozen strawberries (possibly from a farm worker in Baja California, Mexico).
Other cases – linked to imported raspberries from Chile and Guatemala – have been caused by a germ called Cyclospora, which causes severe diarrhea, dehydration, and cramps.
Undercooked Chicken
Chicken is unique in that surface bacteria like Salmonella, which can trigger diarrhea, fever, and cramping up to three days after eating, can get inside the meat (as opposed to contaminating just the surface). Again, cooking your food to the proper temperature (165 degrees for chicken) can kill any lingering bacteria, and refrigerating leftovers right away can stop remaining bacteria from multiplying. “You want to treat all meats as if it’s contaminated to prevent transmissions,” Hedberg says. It’s why washing your hands and any surfaces that have been exposed to raw chicken is C-L-U-T-C-H to avoid transferring bacteria to ready-to-eat foods or directly shoveling these bugs into into your mouth.