Half Cooked Meat, Is It Safe? This Is The Healthiest Way To Process

Illustration of how to cook half-cooked meat (Unsplash/Vera Davidova)

JAKARTA – Meat steaks that are processed rare to medium-rare need special methods so they don't carry Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Taste if processed half cooked or raw may be unique and tasty. But if the bacteria in it are not destroyed it can cause serious illness.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Diabetics, a food thermometer is the most important tool for making sure the food you eat is safe. A thermometer also needs to be used to ensure that raw, processed meat does not carry bacteria that are harmful to health.

Half-cooked meat is actually not all dangerous. Especially when having dinner at a restaurant with a medium-rare steak menu. Unless the temperature used for processing is less able to kill the bacteria in raw meat.

A better way is to ensure the temperature at which your food is processed. This is what most likely guarantees the meat to the 'right' level of doneness and is delicious. Sometimes, the taste serves a delicacy but avoid relying solely on the sense of taste to determine whether the cooked meat is safe. Even the color and texture of the meat is not a reliable indicator.

A study confirms both of these. Like chocolate, firmness or juicy texture should not be taken into account to determine ripeness and safety for consumption. Also, pink doesn't mean the meat is undercooked. This means that the temperature indicated by the thermometer is the only way to safely enjoy meat-based dishes.

Mature beef, veal, pork, or ground lamb are not safe to grind and then half cook. Because the grinding process allows the material to spread bacteria. Ground beef needs to be processed at least at a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit or 71.1 degrees Celsius.

For ground chicken and turkey need to be cooked at a temperature of approximately 73 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, fresh steak, grilled or diced, when cooked medium-rare at 62 degrees Celsius for at least 3 minutes is still safe for consumption.

Elderly women, children, and adults with weakened immune systems should avoid all medium-rare or undercooked processed meats.