Table 3.

A summary of common foodborne pathogens and their implications for food safety.

Foodborne Pathogens	Characteristics	Contaminated Food	The Main Symptoms of FOOD Poisoning	Examples of Harmful Spoilage Effects	References
Listeria monocytogenes	Gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic, non-spore forming	meat (especially beef), eggs, poultry, seafood, vegetable, salad, juice, milk, cheese, dairy, ice-cream	diarrhea and fever	meningitis, encephalitis, endocarditis, sepsis, pneumonia, and other central nervous system infections	[56,57,58]
Salmonella enterica	Gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic, flagellate, non-spore forming	eggs, egg products, poultry meat	fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps	gastroenteritis, sepsis	[59,60,61,62]
Staphylococcus aureus	Gram-positive, spherical, facultative anaerobic, flagellate, non-spore forming, non-motile	meat products, dairy products, egg products, poultry, salads, bakery products (especially cream-filled pastries and cakes, and sandwich fillings)	nausea, vomiting, spasmodic pain in the middle and upper abdomen, diarrhea	osteomyelitis, endocarditis, chronic wound infection, eye infection, multimicrobial biofilm infection, renal abscess	[63,64]
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Gram-negative, rod-shaped, obligate aerobic, flagellate, motile	fruits, vegetables, meat, low-acid dairy products	fever, ulceration, diarrhea, expectoration	postoperative wound infection, urinary tract infection, bedsore, abscess, external otitis, otitis media, keratitis, folliculitis, sepsis, cystic fibrosis	[65,66,67]
Escherichia coli	Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore forming, metabolically active	fresh meat, fruits, vegetables, raw milk, dairy products	nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, fever	gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infections, septic infections, hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, kidney failure	[68,69,70,71]
Bacillus cereus	Gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultative aerobic, spore-forming, motile	dairy products, vegetables, meat, rice	diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms	meningitis, brain abscess, cellulitis, endophthalmitis, pneumonia, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis	[72,73,74]
Campylobacter jejuni	Gram-negative, rod-shaped, microaerophilic, flagellate, non-spore forming, motile	Animals, poultry, vegetables, fruits, all kinds of cooked food, milk, dairy products	bloody diarrhoea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting	gastrointestinal infection, acute enteritis, septicemia, meningitis, arthritis, pyelonephritis	[75,76]