In recent years, the consumption of raw foods has increased. This is due to the influence of Asian and South American cuisines. Despite this, there are certain foods that need to be cooked correctly to prevent complications. What happens if you eat poorly cooked food?
Consuming foods that are improperly cooked can sometimes lead to poisoning that complicates health.
Therefore, it is necessary to know why some types of foods must be cooked well and which ones can cause health problems.
Cooking is a method of hygiene
- One of the functions of cooking food, apart from improving its organoleptic qualities, is to improve its healthiness. By subjecting food to high temperatures we ensure that the living organisms that inhabit it are destroyed.
- In this way, bacteria, fungi or other microorganisms that can colonize the digestive tract and cause diseases, such as salmonellosis, are eliminated.
- One of the most practical examples is the sterilization of milk. This is subjected to high temperatures for a few moments to guarantee its food safety.
- Once this process is finished, it can be kept in a closed container for a long time, until the date of consumption. In this way, the absence of pathogenic microorganisms is guaranteed.
Dangers of poorly cooked food
- Proper cooking of food can help destroy possible pathogenic organisms that can cause poisoning and infections.
- Among the foods that usually require complete cooking are meats. Normally, leaving a lean steak or chop a little raw inside is not usually a problem.
- Pathogenic organisms are found on the surface, therefore only the outermost part of the product needs to be browned to ensure safety. However, things get complicated when we talk about minced meat.
- A typical example is hamburgers. In this type of products, all meat is susceptible to containing pathogenic organisms, both on the surface and inside. Therefore, we must ensure that the piece reaches at least 60 or 70 degrees inside.
- Leaving meat burgers underdone on the inside is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. Consuming this type of poorly cooked food is a real health risk.
Fish are also risky foods
- In recent years, the consumption of raw fish has become popular in eastern culture.
- Sushi chains and other types of dishes that use this seafood without a prior cooking process have proliferated.
- However, in order for the fish to be consumed raw, it must go through a prior freezing process. In this way, we ensure the death of the microorganisms present or their inactivity.
- The most dangerous organism in this type of products is usually anisakis, especially in white fish, and it is easily eliminated during freezing. Furthermore, it is quite common for preparations that involve the use of raw fish to incorporate some acid in their recipe, such as lime juice.
- This variation in pH also represents a hard blow against the microorganisms that may live on its surface. Now, if fresh fish is going to be consumed without a prior freezing process, it is essential to ensure that it is cooked correctly.
- Something similar happens with meats; It is necessary to at least cook the external part of the product in blue fish, and complete cooking in white fish. In this way, we ensure that the food is not susceptible to causing diseases.
- Fish is a food with a high risk of contamination. Therefore, both its conservation and cooking must be guaranteed.
Conclusion on the consumption of poorly cooked food
- Eating raw or poorly cooked foods can pose a health risk. It is interesting to know the origin of the product and whether it has been subjected to a prior freezing process. In this way, we can determine the risk of consuming it under an incomplete cooking method.
- Special care must be taken with meat burgers and white fish, as they are critical foods from the point of view of food safety. When consuming any type of raw food, it is important to make sure to freeze it for a reasonable period of time.
- In addition, it is usually a good idea to introduce some acidic element in the preparation of the dish to vary the pH and, in this way, ensure the death of possible pathogenic organisms that live in it.
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