EXOTOXINS In addition to disease caused by direct bacterial infection, some foodborne illnesses are caused by exotoxins which are

excreted by the cell as the bacterium grows. Exotoxins can produce illness even when the microbes that produced them have been killed. Symptoms typically appear after 1 6 hours depending on the amount of toxin ingested. For example Staphylococcus aureus produces a toxin that causes intense vomiting. The rare but potentially deadly disease botulism occurs when the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum grows in improperly canned low-acid foods and produces botulin, a powerful paralytic toxin