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“Don’t undercook your meat,” reminds Japan’s health authorities.

By on December 26, 2020

With the feasting season upon us, many families will be eating meat at home.

When it comes to health, ignorance is not bliss. So before heating up your cooking stove, it’s important to know that all meats are not equal.  While medium rare is acceptable for steaks, it is not the case for hamburgers. Here are some of the guidelines by Japan’s health authorities how you can stay safe from food poisoning.

 

Eating meat or liver raw carries the risk of being infected with the hepatitis E. coli virus and can cause serious liver damage. Although a number of restaurants in Japan serve liver sashimi, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is asking people to steer clear of raw meat, regardless of how carefully they have been prepared. There have been cases of food poisoning and parasite infections in the past that are linked to Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni / coli. 

The key advice here is to cook the meat long enough until the center is no longer red in color.  The pathogens that cause food poisoning will not die unless the meat and internal organs remain reddish.  The same goes for minced meat dishes such as your favorite burgers and meatballs. Heat until the center is fully cooked and the color of your gravy becomes transparent, a sign that pathogens have been eliminated. Bacteria thrive and multiply under 60 degrees Celsius. That’s why cooking meat until the internal temperature measures at least 65 degrees Celsius is safe to effectively break the bacteria cells down and prevent them from reproducing.

In 2011, after the food poisoning incident from beef  Yukhoe, a Korean raw meat dish similar to steak tartare, Japan enforced a heating temperature of  60° C for 2 minutes for raw meat cuts with at least 1 cm or more thickness from the surface. However, even with that temperature, it is difficult to completely remove E. Coli bacteria. So for those with weak resistance to food poisoning such as children and the elderly, the Ministry advises people to refrain from eating raw meat.

In May 2011,  four people died in three prefectures in Japan after E. coli was detected in a Korean Yukhoe they consumed at a restaurant.  Two of those who died were six-year-old boys and over 70.

The amount of pathogens in meat is high and should not be eaten raw. In a Ministry survey on fatal food poisoning bacteria in commercially available minced meat, beef was found to contain 61.2% E coli and 1.5% salmonella; pork 69.2% E coli and 2.8% salmonella; chicken 81.4% E coli and 51.9% Salmonela.

 

(Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

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