Food Poisoning? Or Lurgy?

[monster]

I started to feel a bit "off" around 6:30 last night. By 10pm, my body had finished ridding itself off it's entire contents and returned to normal temperature after being so cold I needed 4 blankets on top of my quilt and fluffy socks, and by around 2am I was able to start getting a few snatches of sleep. This morning, I'm all better.

Was it food poisoning or a 12-hour bug? There are two things I ate yesterday that the rest of my family didn't. Cheese and store-made apple pie. I have some of both left. Do I toss these out, take them for testing somewhere or what? Or wait and see if the rest of the family gets it without eating these foods and if they do assume the food's OK?

Looking at this, I'm thinking food poisoning and suspecting the cheese (packaged sliced provolone). It was a new pack I opened and I ate it around 11:30am. The (fresh from the store) apple pie was around 2pm.

Whilst 12 hours doesn't seem like long for a lurgy, the link suggestd food poisoning takes a couple of days too. I am rarely ever ill and recover much faster than the rest of the family if I do get something. I have no sniffles or anything, though.

What do you reckon -food poisoning or lurgy? And if the former, should I try to report it somehow?

[Pete Zicato]

I'd be more inclined to distrust the apple pie. I think stuff grows faster in gooey foods.

Eight or nine years ago Mrs. Z and the Z-lets had breakfast with Mrs. Z's cousins at a local restaurant. Z-let #1 and two of the cousins got really sick. They compared notes and found out the sick kids had all had sausage.

Mrs. Z called the county health department, who inspected the restaurant and discovered that they were trying to save money by keeping the coolers warmer than required. They closed them down for a week, they had to throw everything out, scrub everything down, and they got inspected on a regular basis. But we still don't go back there.

I'd call your local county health department and ask what they suggest.

[lumberjim]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_perfringens

Incubation time is between 6 and 24 (commonly 10-12) hours after ingestion of contaminated food. Often, meat is well prepared but too far in advance of consumption. Since C. perfringens forms spores that can withstand cooking temperatures, if let stand for long enough, germination ensues and infective bacterial colonies develop. Symptoms typically include abdominal cramping and diarrhea; vomiting and fever are unusual. The whole course usually resolves within 24 hours.