As discussed earlier in the module, a pathogen can enter the food chain and cause illness in direct or indirect ways, which may include some of the following:

• From the environment (indirect)

• An animal or human (direct)

• A worker’s contaminated hands (direct)

• Contaminated equipment and/or surfaces (indirect)

• Direct ingestion of a food containing a pathogen or its toxin (direct)

Now that you know some of the ways a pathogen can get into our food chain, let's take a look at the type of illnesses pathogens may cause, along with some of the specific pathogens we are concerned about in food safety.