The time it takes for food poisoning symptoms to start can vary widely depending on the cause. Generally, symptoms often begin within about 1 to 3 days after consuming contaminated food, but they can appear as soon as 30 minutes or as late as 3 weeks afterward. More specifically, some common onset times for different pathogens include:
- Staphylococcus aureus: symptoms typically start about 6 hours after eating contaminated food like potato salad or mayonnaise-based dishes
- Salmonella: symptoms usually appear between 6 and 72 hours after exposure
- E. coli: symptoms often begin 3 to 4 days after ingestion, but can range from 1 to 10 days
- Norovirus: symptoms start within 12 to 48 hours
- Listeria: symptoms can take from 9 hours up to several weeks to develop, depending on the severity
- Hepatitis A virus: symptoms may appear 15 to 50 days after exposure
In general, mild food poisoning symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever can start anywhere from a few hours to several days after eating contaminated food. Severe symptoms or complications may require medical attention
. An emergency physician notes that food poisoning often takes about six hours to start causing symptoms, though this varies by the specific bacteria or virus involved
. In summary, the onset time for food poisoning symptoms ranges broadly from as little as 30 minutes to several weeks, with most cases beginning within hours to a few days after eating contaminated food
