Undercooked foods which make you ill

[s0ccer_princess]

I was eating dinner today, and we got a takeaway- which we do every Sunday. I ordered chips, and when I looked at them they were really pale. I ate about half of them (it was a large portion) but then I kind of stopped because they really weren't that appetising.

My parents asked me if I was done, and I said yeah- because they seemed a bit undercooked. My dad looked at me as if I was crazy and said that any bacteria would be killed immediately because chips are cooked in 400 degree oil etc. He said you cannot get food poisoning from having them undercooked.

I ate the rest, but feel a bit sick. Is it true though that undercooked chips are ok though? I thought frozen stuff was a bit dodgy to not cook properly.

[candi529]

i haven't heard that they are bad if they are undercooked, especially since they were frozen. and you're dad was right, they were in hot hot oil, so any germs on them, bacteria etc, would be killed. don't worry.

[s0ccer_princess]

Thanks

I feel really quite stupid, I'm supposed to be taking Food tech. for GCSE and I thought that it could make you ill..

So other than theobvious meat, eggs, fish what can cause food poisoning if it isn't cooked properly?

[candi529]

i worry about things that are left out too long without proper refridgeration. i usually don't worry about how long things are cooked... besides meat, eggs, etc, which i obsessively worry about.


i wouldn't feel stupid though... sometimes we panic and can't help it.most ofthe time i make myself feelsick when there is no cause at all, only hyping myself up.

[s0ccer_princess]

Exactly- that's the problem. You worry because you feel sick, but you really are feeling sick because you're worrying.

I worry about eggs and meat a lot too, but doing cooking at school has helped me a bit. While I am nowhere near ever being able to eat raw cake mix, I'm not as obsessive thanks to all of the baking we've done over the past unit. You end up not having the time to worry about whether you washed your hands enough after touching the tiniest bit of egg etc.

[angel13]

Yeah, anaemic undercooked chips won't hurt you, soccer princess! I worked in a pub for 4 years, cooking chips for the bar meals all the time - the oil is red hot, and anyway, it's only potato, so its not like uncooked meat or anything, which has bacteria.


I'm not a food expert, so I don't really know what other foods can make you ill, if undercooked. Some people actually DRINK raw eggs! >_< blehh!! I never could understand that...but just to let you know, I eat raw cake mix everytime I bake a cake, and not once has it hurt me! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]So yeah, eggs have never bothered me.


Raw chicken, on the other hand...I'll wash my hands several times with antibacterial soap after handling that. I'm always scared it'll get under my fingernails, too. Raw meat in general I just dont like going near.

[crimgoddess]

I'm a serial cake-batter and cookie-dough eater, and haven't been sick yet.


Nothing says yum like eating cookie dough out of a tube like a push pop!



*amber*

[gumdropper1]

Hi Princess. What you have to worry about being undercooked is protein foods -- meat and dairy. French fries (what you call chips) are GREAT if they've been sitting out a while. Try them reheated in your oven sometime.


Doug

[thegooddr]

princess,



I agree with the others, the chips are fine undercooked, what might
make you feel a bit ill if you eat undercooked potatoes is that there
is a lot of digesting to do of the raw potatoe. Think about it
when you handle a potatoe after it has just been peeled - it is solid
and very starchy - now think about your stomach trying to digest that.



As for bad undercooked stuff, well I would say 99% of vegetables are
micobiologically safe to eat raw once they have been very well
washed. All meat should have some level of cooking:-



Chicken - totally cooked, any raw bits and you are going to be ill



Beef - cook the outside of joints but the remainder can be left bloody,
thoroughly cook all minced beef until no pink bits are left (and then
probably cook it some more)



Lamb - should be cooked to an internal temperature of 70-75C



Pork - should be cooked to an internal temperature of 75C



Fish - hmmm, the biggest problem here is parasites. Sushi (using
the generic name for this type of food rather than individual dish
names) lovers
will say it is OK to eat raw and they are probabbly right. Sushi
is usually served with a herb called Wasabi and this has a chemical in
it that that can inhibit and neutralise the parasites (or so the theory
goes)



Seafood- A lot of shellfish are filter feeders, so they concentrate
anything in the water they are grown, so viruses such as norwalk can be
got in non-cooked seafood and also they concentrate micro-algae which
could contain toxins which can be very nasty (have just finished a 4
year research project on these toxins and they can be VERY nasty).



Think that is about it., if you are doing your GCSE, you might find
www.food.gov.uk handy as it is the UK food standards agency and they
will have loads of info on safe food on there.



Iain




Edited by: thegooddr

[s0ccer_princess]

Thanks a lot. I think the only reason I thought it in the first place was after this one time when my sister got ill after eating these undercooked twizzly chips at a restaurant, because they had been intertwined and not cooked properly as a result.

Thanks a lot Iain, I'll be sure to check out the website.

[wing]

Yes, I think you'll be fine. My mom fed me rice left out overnight yesterday in the rice cooker. o_e... I was scared lol, but it wasn't meat, so I gave in.

Fish - hmmm, the biggest problem here is parasites. Sushi (using the generic name for this type of food rather than individual dish names) lovers will say it is OK to eat raw and they are probabbly right. Sushi is usually served with a herb called Wasabi and this has a chemical in it that that can inhibit and neutralise the parasites (or so the theory goes)

Sushi is cured with...uh..forgot the thing.. lol but its not with wasabi. Wasabi is horseradish and its that green spicy hot pasty thing. If people eat it with sushi, they usually use soy sauce. ^^;; I eat fish all the time but I've never heard of Parasites. O.o Oh well, I always eat fish cooked. I also don't think raw fish in the sushi is anything to avoid either. ^^.

[chicajojobe]

Yeah French fries (chips, w/e) are made from just potatoes so there's
no reason you can't eat those raw...I had to eat a piece of raw potato
for a pH lab in AP Biology. It tasted like ass, but it didn't make me
feel sick.






Edited by: chicajojobe

[jay_rough]

Undercooked chips are potatoes, therefore DEFINATELY safe, low-risk foods. It's chicken and beef you must watch out for. Still, if you get worried, think of the people who eat undercooked (rare) steaks every day and never get sick.


There is a food poisoning that grows in 20% of vegetables, clostridium p (unsure of full name) but it only comes from infected soil. It is killed by heating. Your dad is correct, chips are cooked in scalding hot oil, it will neutrilize any bacteria. If you wish to see how strong it is, do what we did the other day. We took two pieces of meat (cooked) and on one we placed a strain of salmonellae. The other had the same bacteria on it. We cooked one in an oven for a while, the other we almost incinerated.


On both, we found very low amounts. Even the microwave cooked piece had a fairly low amount (although being warm, bacteria would regenerate quickly)


The only thing that could make them bad is the hygeine. Most hopefully, the place you ate chips from is a clean place. (Don't get them from a truck stop, not a good idea). The sickness you feel is just nerves.

I hope you feel much better.


Peace and love


-Jay Rough.

[thegooddr]

Wing,



You are correct, eating raw fish in sashimi should be nothing to avoid
if the sushi chef has followed all the necessary precautions to limit
infections. I love sushi and find it an incredibly fresh and
wholesome food with minimal fat and would heartily recommend it to
all. All fish should have been frozen and thawed carefully before
use in raw fish dishes, this is so that any parasites within the fish
meat will be adequately killed. Those fish which live close to
the shoreline - eg salmon and rockfish live in proximity to other
mammals on the shore and can easily pick up parasites passed from the
feces of these animals. Tuna however is almost free of parasites
as it lives so far offshore. If meat is taken from a freshly
killed fish or one that has not been frozen then the parasites will not
be killed, although avoiding contaminating the meat with parts of the
internal organs will significantly reduce the potential
contamination. The three main parasites of fish include flukes,
nematodes and tapeworms, all of which you don't really want to consume
if they are alive - tapeworms can grow many many metres if well fed !!!!



According to CDC stats between 1973 and 1987 approximately 5% of food
borne illness was attributed to the consumption of raw shellfish and
finfish. I have seen no newer figures so don't know if the trend
has continued/increased/decreased.



On the point of wasabi, its unfortunate that most wasabi available in shops is just simple horseradish (Armoracia rusticana</span>) coloured with a green dye rather than true Wasabi (Eutrema japonica</span>).
there is no real comparison in the taste, I would advise anyone who is
eating sushi to make sure that they are using true wasabi, your taste
buds will thank you.



Sorry, got off topic here a bit, just I am a bit of a sushi freak and wanted to pass on a few thoughts.



Iain

[melissarene]

I'm a serial cake-batter and cookie-dough eater, and haven't been sick yet.


Nothing says yum like eating cookie dough out of a tube like a push pop!



*amber*

Here! Here! I just had cookie dough two days ago...YUM!

[rubysoho120]

Anything can cause you to have food poisioning...if it is
containminted with a parasite, bacteria, virus, or toxin. Food that is
left out in the temputure danger zone is what causes bacteria and
toxin problems...that is 40F to 135F for four hours or more. But just
because you cook or freeze something doesn't mean it will kill all the
bad bateria or viruses, because some can survive either situation.
And toxins never get killed because they are a result of bacteria and
viruses and parasites, after they have been sitting out and making
the toxins. Juice, milk, ice cream, eggs, veggies, fruit, meat, all that
can be containminated. Especially if they aren't pasturized right or in
the case of fish or meat, not fresh, and frozen and unfrozen and then
frozen again. To be really safe with meat you have to make sure the
internal temperture is correct,, and you can look those up online.
Things like potatoes are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria
because its not too acidic or too basic, so its a just warm enough to
grow bacteria perfectly. I think under cooked fries are fine, because
they are in hot oil, given that the hot oil isn't contaiminated. I hope
this helps, because I'm in the culinary buisness, schooled and all, and
I know a lot about food safety and sanitatition.