Final answer:
Poor cleaning and sanitizing can lead to foodborne illness when food is contaminated with pathogens due to improper hygiene like unwashed hands, cross-contamination, or failure to control food temperatures. These practices allow pathogens such as norovirus and bacteria like Salmonella to infect food, potentially leading to illness.
Step-by-step explanation:
Poor cleaning and sanitizing can cause foodborne illness when food becomes contaminated with pathogens due to improper hygiene practices. Microorganisms like norovirus and various bacteria, including Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), and Campylobacter jejuni, can contaminate food when individuals handling the food do not wash their hands adequately or when there is cross-contamination between foods. The infectious dose, which is the quantity of an agent that must be consumed to cause disease, varies depending on the pathogen and the host factors such as age and overall health.
Food safety is crucial at both the commercial level, with government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration ensuring sanitary conditions, and at home, where it primarily depends on good hygiene practices such as regular handwashing, avoiding cross-contamination, and proper temperature control during storage and preparation of food. Cooking food thoroughly and washing hands can prevent most bacterial illnesses. However, contaminated food can sometimes appear harmless, disputing the myth that foodborne diseases are primarily caused by food that has 'gone bad.'