If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing the joys of food poisoning than you haven't lived.  That's just a joke, actually!  Getting food poisoning is no laughing matter, though.  I can tell you from personal experience that is no fun!  I had it a few years ago from under cooked ground turkey meat and I was sick to my stomach and dizzy for a good day.  I had to leave work, walk home and almost fainted on the sidewalk.  I couldn't even see straight!  Read on to learn more about how you can prevent it from ever happening to you or a loved one. 

Always wash your hands and everything else that comes in contact with food.  This includes utensils, cutting boards, countertops, table ware, and cook ware.  Wash hands with warm water for at least 20 seconds before handling food, after handling uncooked meat/produce and wash between preparing each type of food.  Separate raw foods from other kinds of food and use a separate cutting board for meat and vegetables.  Do not use the same utensils or dish ware with uncooked or other foods.  Keep it out of the danger zone (40 F and 140F) by cooking it thoroughly.  Check the internal temperature of meat with a clean thermometer and make sure it's at least 140 F.  It is not good enough to just eye ball it to see if it's brown. 

Keep food cold and chill leftovers quickly in refrigerator at 40 F or below or a freezer at 0 or below.  Refrigerate or freeze food within 2 hours or 1 hour if the outside temperature is 90 degrees or above.  Thaw frozen food in refrigerator, rather than the counter. If you need it quicker, thaw it under running cold water or in the microwave and cook immediately.  If you do get food poisoning after taking the necessary precautions, the nausea and vomiting should go away within a day or two.  Seek medical attention if you still feel ill after 2 days.