how soon does food poisoning start

Food poisoning symptoms typically start within a few hours to a couple of days after eating contaminated food. Most commonly, symptoms begin between 2 to 6 hours but can vary depending on the type of contaminant. Some cases might even take a few weeks for symptoms to appear, though this is less common. The typical onset time is around 6 hours for many cases, but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specific bacteria, virus, or toxin involved.