Most of the money will go to the families of the three children who were the most seriously injured but survived poisoning from the toxic bacteria, E.coli O157:H7.

I urge people not to regard food that is negative for E. coli O157:H7 as free of other toxic bacteria.

Nematodes insert themselves inside the bodies of bad insects (Japanese beetle grubs, cutworms, black vine weevils) and poison them with toxic bacteria.

But Vibrio vulnificus, a toxic bacterium, is also found in mollusks.

Ingest these toxic bacteria, and you experience watery diarrhea and severe abdominal pain at first, bloody stools next.

Mechnikov also developed a theory that aging is caused by toxic bacteria in the gut and that lactic acid could prolong life.

Scombroid, a toxic bacteria often found on large fish, can spread rapidly if the fish is not refrigerated, Dr. Flomenbaum said.

Salmonella and Campylobacter, two of the most toxic bacteria, are present in the carcasses of three quarters of chickens reared on European farms.

It was once thought that Komodos used deadly saliva containing toxic bacteria to poison their prey.

Most of the money is expected to go to the families of the three children who were most seriously injured by the toxic bacterium E. coli 0157:H7.