Safe cooking practices for meat and poultry

Following appropriate handling, storage and cooking practices when dealing with raw meat has always been an important concern for consumers and food industries alike. Most meat products should never be served undercooked or rare, including pork, turkey and chicken. However, beef and some other red meats can be considered safe to consume rare, or even raw, on occasion.

The trouble is, not everyone knows which meats are safe to be served rare and which must be fully cooked. With that in mind, it’s important to learn more about the current food safety standards.

Food poisoning cases on the rise

One item that should always be considered with careful scrutiny is pate. This product was recently brought into the media spotlight when 49 wedding guests in the United Kingdom, including the bride and groom, suffered life-threatening food-poisoning as a result of liver pate that had been improperly handled. It was discovered that the product was contaminated with Campylobacter, a bacterium that can be found in many different types of poultry.

Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of food poisoning found within Australia today.

Similarly to cases in the United Kingdom, the amount of food poisoning cases that have been linked to Campylobacter in parfait and cooked liver pate has seen a significant increase throughout Australia. According to the executive director of the Food Safety Information Council, Julianna Madden, it is essential for consumers to be more cautious about the poultry products they consume.

Although most people generally avoid undercooked chicken, the same cannot necessarily be said for duck. There have been debates in which experts have suggested that rare duck could be safe to eat, while others disagree entirely in light of recent food poisoning cases.

When in doubt, it is always best to choose fully cooked meats, as this will reduce your chances of becoming ill. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.