| Major presenting symptom | Likely microbes | Incubation period | Likely food sources |
| Vomiting | S. aureus | 1 to 6 hours | Prepared food, eg, salads, dairy, meat |
| B. cereus | 1 to 6 hours | Rice, meat | |
| Norwalk-like viruses | 24 to 48 hours | Shellfish, prepared foods, salads, sandwiches, fruit | |
| Watery diarrhea | C. perfringens | 8 to 16 hours | Meat, poultry, gravy |
| Enterotoxigenic E. coli | 1 to 3 days | Fecally contaminated food or water | |
| Enteric viruses | 10 to 72 hours | Fecally contaminated food or water | |
| C. parvum | 2 to 28 days | Vegetables, fruit, unpasteurized milk, water | |
| C. cayetanensis | 1 to 11 days | Imported berries, basil | |
| Inflammatory diarrhea | Campylobacter spp | 2 to 5 days | Poultry, unpasteurized milk, water |
| Non-typhoidal salmonella | 1 to 3 days | Eggs, poultry, meat, unpasteurized milk or juice, fresh produce | |
| Shiga toxin-producing E. coli | 1 to 8 days | Ground beef, unpasteurized milk and juice, raw vegetables, water | |
| Shigella spp | 1 to 3 days | Fecal contamination of food and water | |
| V. parahemolyticus | 2 to 48 hours | Raw shellfish |