Can raw meat harm health
Yes, easily. The fact is that raw meat and poultry contain Foods That Can Cause Food Poisoning / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there are a lot of harmful microorganisms. Here are the main ones.
- Campylobacter. Most of the poultry is infected Campylobacter (Campylobacteriosis) / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention different types of these bacteria. Once in the human body, they can cause stomach cramps, fever and diarrhea, often with blood. This condition lasts from 2 to 5 days, and everything can end in complications: irritable bowel syndrome, temporary paralysis, arthritis.
- Salmonella. These bacteria can cause Salmonella / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Symptoms can appear both 6 hours after eating, and after six days. As a rule, poisoning does not require treatment and passes after 4-7 days. But in some cases, it is so acute that hospitalization may be necessary.
- Clostridium perfringens. These bacteria cause diarrhea and stomach cramps, without nausea. Symptoms appear 6-24 hours after ingestion, occur suddenly and last no more than a day.
- E. coli. Shiga toxin‑producing strains can cause E. coli (Escherichia coli) / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bloody diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps. Symptoms occur on the 3rd‑4th day after bacteria enter the body and torment a person for 5-7 days. About 5-10% of patients suffer from a life—threatening complication - hemolytic uremic syndrome.
- Yersinia. Basically, these bacteria get Yersinia enterocolitica / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enters the body after eating pork and can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. Symptoms may persist for 1-3 weeks, and complications include a skin rash, joint pain, or the spread of bacteria into the bloodstream.
Of course, you can try raw meat — maybe you'll be lucky and there won't be any bacteria in it. But at the same time, there is a high probability that you will still catch an intestinal infection and spend not the most pleasant week in your life.
How to cook meat so as not to get poisoned
In order not to suffer from intestinal infections, follow the following cooking rules.
- Do not wash the meat and use a separate cutting board. Bacteria can get on the sink or cutting surface and infect products that will not undergo heat treatment.
- Cook the meat at the right temperature. To kill bacteria inside a piece of beef or pork, as well as in sausages from this meat, there should be Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature / FoodSafety 63 °C. The temperature of 71 ° C is suitable for minced meat, 74 ° C for meat casseroles, as well as poultry. To find out if the product has warmed up enough, use a kitchen thermometer.
- Do not leave the meat dish at room temperature for longer than 2 hours. Cool, arrange in containers and put in the refrigerator. The temperature in the chamber should not exceed 4 ° C. It is better to cut large pieces of meat: this way they will cool down faster, and bacteria will not have time to multiply in them.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the steaks with blood that are loved by many: they are considered Is a rare steak safe to eat? / U.S. Department of Agriculture unsafe. Since bacteria die at 60-70 ° C, and meat with a degree of roasting blue, rare and medium rare is cooked at 40-50 ° C, there is a high risk of food poisoning.
Moreover, since symptoms may occur only after a week, you will not even understand what is associated with bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. So it's better not to take risks and fry a piece of meat well before serving it on the table.