Organism (common name of illness)	Time from ingestion to symptom onset	Signs and symptoms	Duration	Food sources
Bacillus cereus (food poisoning)	10 to 16 hours	Abdominal cramps, nausea, watery diarrhea	24 to 48 hours	Gravy, meats, stews, vanilla sauce
Campylobacter jejuni (campylobacteriosis)	2 to 5 days	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea (may be bloody), fever, vomiting	2 to 10 days	Contaminated water, raw or undercooked poultry, unpasteurized milk
Clostridium botulinum (botulism)	12 to 72 hours	Blurred vision, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, double vision, muscle weakness, vomiting; can cause respiratory failure and death	Variable	Fermented fish, improperly canned foods (especially home-canned vegetables), potatoes baked in aluminum foil
Clostridium perfringens (food poisoning)	8 to 16 hours	Intense abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea	Usually 24 hours	Dried or precooked foods, gravy, meats, poultry, undercooked foods
Cryptosporidium (cryptosporidiosis)	2 to 10 days	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea (usually watery), slight fever	May be remitting and relapsing over weeks to months	Contaminated drinking water, cooked foods that are not reheated after contact with an infected food handler, uncooked foods
Cyclospora cayetanensis (cyclosporiasis)	1 to 14 days, usually at least 1 week	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea (usually watery), fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, substantial weight loss, vomiting	May be remitting and relapsing over weeks to months	Contaminated raw produce (e.g., basil, imported berries, lettuce)
Escherichia coli (traveler's diarrhea)	1 to 3 days	Abdominal cramps, vomiting, watery diarrhea	3 to 7 days	Food or water contaminated with human feces
E. coli O157:H7 (Shiga toxin–producing E. coli or hemorrhagic colitis)	1 to 8 days	Abdominal pain, severe diarrhea (often bloody), vomiting; can cause kidney failure	5 to 10 days	Contaminated drinking water, contaminated raw produce (e.g., sprouts), undercooked beef (especially hamburger), unpasteurized milk or juice
Hepatitis A	15 to 50 days (mean = 28 days)	Abdominal pain, dark urine, diarrhea, fever, headache, jaundice, nausea	2 weeks to 3 months	Contaminated drinking water, contaminated raw produce, cooked foods that are not reheated after contact with an infected food handler, shellfish from contaminated water, uncooked foods
Listeria monocytogenes (listeriosis)	9 to 48 hours for gastrointestinal symptoms, 2 to 6 weeks for invasive disease	Diarrhea, fever, muscle aches, nausea; pregnant women may have mild flulike illness, and infection can lead to premature delivery or stillbirth; older adults and immunocompromised patients may develop bacteremia or meningitis	Variable	Deli meats, unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk
Norovirus (food poisoning, viral gastroenteritis, winter diarrhea)	12 to 48 hours	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea (more common in adults), fever, headache, nausea, vomiting (more common in children)	12 to 60 hours	Contaminated drinking water, contaminated raw produce, cooked foods that are not reheated after contact with an infected food handler, shellfish from contaminated water, uncooked foods
Salmonella (salmonellosis)	6 to 48 hours	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, vomiting	4 to 7 days	Cheese, contaminated raw produce, eggs, meat, poultry, unpasteurized milk or juice
Shigella (shigellosis or bacillary dysentery)	4 to 7 days	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever; stools may contain blood and mucus	24 to 48 hours	Contaminated drinking water, contaminated raw produce, cooked foods that are not reheated after contact with an infected food handler, uncooked foods
Staphylococcus aureus (food poisoning)	1 to 6 hours	Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, sudden onset of severe nausea and vomiting	24 to 48 hours	Unrefrigerated or improperly refrigerated cream pastries, meats, and potato or egg salad
Vibrio parahaemolyticus	4 to 96 hours	Abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea (occasionally bloody)	2 to 5 days	Undercooked or raw seafood
Vibrio vulnificus	1 to 7 days	Abdominal pain, bleeding under the skin, bloodborne infection, diarrhea, fever, ulcers requiring surgical removal, vomiting; can be fatal to persons with liver disease or weakened immune systems	2 to 8 days	Undercooked or raw seafood (especially oysters)