Risks of eating undercooked chicken

Global health trends have more people choosing chicken over red meats. In fact, chicken is the most popular meat eaten by Americans. Chicken can be a a part of a healthy diet, but it’s crucial to understand the risks associated with undercooked chicken.
All meats, including chicken, pose a risk if you fail to cook them so they’re the proper temperature all the way through. While everyone should be aware of the risks, pregnant women and children are particularly at risk. Fully cooked chicken appears white, with no pink areas.
Importance of Cooking Chicken Properly each above 165 degrees Fahrenheit to effectively kill harmful microorganisms. If chicken does not reach this temperature, you run the risk of pathogens surviving and making you and your family ill.

Salmonella Bacteria
Salmonella is one of the most common pathogens found in undercooked chicken. The Salmonella bacteria thrive inside the stomachs of most farm animals, but are especially prevalent in chicken. Salmonella from undercooked chicken can infect your intestinal tract. This can lead to salmonella poisoning which can make you very ill within 12 to 72 hours of consuming contaminated chicken, and can last 4 to 7 days. Symptoms include chills, fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, which may lead to dehydration.

Campylobacter Bacteria
Another of the most common pathogens found in chicken that isn’t fully cooked is Campylobacter. Similar to salmonella, this bacteria thrives when chicken comes in contact with animal feces. Symptoms are similar to Salmonella, but include bloody diarrhea and last about a week. It shows up from two days to a week after consumption and can require medical treatment.
Campylobacter also occasionally leads to a far worse condition known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, which is an immune system disease that can prey on your nerves and cause paralysis.

Dangerous Cross Contamination
A kitchens is a busy place, whether it’s at home or in a restaurant. Over half of the cases of salmonella poisoning are linked back to a dirty kitchen in a restaurant or deli where meat, and chicken in particular, isn’t being handled properly.
Due to the sheer amount of raw chicken and other meat being handled, there is a high risk of cross contamination in high-volume kitchens. Cross contamination occurs when a bacteria or pathogen is transferred from one food to another usually because the person preparing hasn’t properly washed their hands and or surfaces they are using to prepare the chicken.
How chicken is stored is important, too. When chicken that is loaded with raw pathogens is placed on a high shelf in the refrigerator, it can drip juices down onto other foods and surfaces, cross-contaminating anything in its proximity.

You’ll Know it When You Feel it
Although these pathogens are different biologically, mostly they cause very similar symptoms. You’ll feel cramping and pain in your abdomen, have nausea and vomiting, and usually experience diarrhea as well. These symptoms might be accompanied by a low grade fever, though it isn’t always present. The time required to feel the effects of your ill-starred meal vary widely: from 2 to 36 hours for enterococcus; as few as 4 hours for E. coli; 2 to 5 days with campylobacter; 1 to 7 hours in the case of Staph aureus; and 6 to 72 hours in the case of salmonella. This means there’s often a possibility that it wasn’t the chicken at all that’s causing your current unhappiness, but a previous meal.

When you’re in Danger
The good news is, that while you’ll probably wish you were dead for a few hours, foodborne illness won’t usually kill you. In fact, you’ve probably shrugged it off many times already in your life, dismissing it as the “stomach flu” or “24-hour flu” and not recognizing it as the price of improperly prepared food.
In healthy adults, the symptoms are usually short-lived and go away within 1 to 4 days. The little-known enterococcus can be more serious, causing secondary infections that require treatment with antibiotics. Campylobacter can occasionally cause more serious conditions such as Guillain-Barre syndrome. Most dangerous is the enterohemorrhagic or EHEC form of E. coli, which can cause life-threatening hemorrhages and organ failure. These pathogens are most dangerous to children, the elderly, anyone with a compromised immune system, and also to pregnant and nursing mothers.

How to Cope
If you’re stricken with one of these nasty “bugs,” your best bet is to clear your calendar and stay at home where you’ll have ready access to your bed and bathroom. Keeping hydrated is important — you’ll lose a surprising quantity of fluids through diarrhea — so keep sipping at clear fluids such as water, broth or an electrolyte beverage. Be extra-diligent in your cleaning and especially your hand-washing, because many of these pathogens can be spread by contact. If you are in a high-risk group, if you experience a fever of more than a degree or two, if the symptoms last for more than 2 days, or if you notice blood in your stool, don’t waste time: See your doctor.
You can’t see or smell the pathogens in chicken that make you ill, and a perfectly cooked chicken might still appear pink next to the bone or dribble blood from the vein in a leg joint. That means there are only two ways to really know when your chicken is properly cooked. One is to overcook it emphatically, so there’s no doubt it’s done. That, unfortunately, can leave the unfortunate bird dry and unpalatable. The other is to use an instant-read thermometer or a leave-in meat thermometer, and cook the chicken or chicken pieces until they reach the recommended safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

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