how fast can food poisoning happen

Food poisoning symptoms can occur quite rapidly, often within 2 to 6 hours of consuming contaminated food or liquids, depending on the type of contaminant. For instance, food poisoning caused by pre-formed toxins, like those from Staphylococcus aureus, can cause symptoms within 30 minutes to 4 hours. In general, symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain usually start between 1 and 36 hours after ingestion, with many common cases appearing around 6 hours after eating contaminated food. The duration of symptoms typically lasts from 12 to 48 hours but can vary based on the severity and the type of infection.