Yes, food poisoning is terrible! I had it a few months ago and never once thought it was from the snakes (bad chicken instead). We got our first snake when our youngest son was only 6 months old, so we were extra careful with the handling and hand washing (and still are!). There's always a chance of getting it because ball pythons are egg laying animals, but I'd worry more about getting bad food somewhere. Just keep hand washing and using sanitizer and you'll be fine.