Raw foods of animal origin tend to have greater chances for contamination and can cause food poisoning including:

• Poultry
• Raw meat
• Eggs
• Shellfish
• Unpasteurized milk

Foods that combine the products of many animals are dangerous and unsafe because a pathogen that is present in one animal may contaminate the whole group. For example, one hamburger may have meat from hundreds of animals, or one restaurant omelet may have eggs from hundreds of chickens.

Washing raw fruits and vegetables reduces its contamination but it does not remove it. Most of the food poisoning outbreaks came from the quality of the water that is used for washing and chilling the produce after they are harvested is crucial indeed. Unclean water for washing, fresh manure for fertilization, and the consumption of uncooked vegetables and unpasteurized fruit juices bring higher risks for contamination.

Toxins, like pesticides, are added to food or the naturally poisonous substances are used to prepare meals, can cause food poisoning. For instance, there are people who become sick annually, after eating poisonous reef fishes or after mistaking poisonous mushrooms as one of the safe species.