On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 246

Meatand
Food-BorneInfections

Beyondthepossibilitythatitmaychipaway
atourlongevitybycontributingtoheart
diseaseandcancer,meatcanalsoposethe
muchmoreimmediatehazardofcausing
infectionbydiseasemicrobes.Thisproblem
remainsalltoocommon.
Bacterial Infection Exactly because it is a
nutritious material, meat is especially
vulnerable to colonization by microbes,
mainly bacteria. And because animal skins
and digestive tracts are rich reservoirs of
bacteria, it’s inevitable that initially clean
meat surfaces will be contaminated during
slaughter and the removal of skin, feathers,
and innards. The problem is magnified in
standard mechanized operations, where
carcassesarehandledlesscarefullythanthey
would be by skilled butchers, and where a


single infected carcass is more likely to
contaminate others. Most bacteria are
harmless and simply spoil the meat by
consuming its nutrients and eventually
generating unpleasant smells and a slimy
surface. A number, however, can invade the
cells of our digestive system, and produce
toxins to destroy the host cells and defenses

andtospeedtheirgetawayfromthebody.The
two most prominent causes of serious meatborneillnessareSalmonellaandE.coli.
Salmonella,agenusthatincludesmore
than2,000distinctbacterialtypes,causes
moreseriousfood-bornediseaseinEurope
andNorthAmericathananyothermicrobe,
andappearstobeontherise.It’saresilient
group,adaptabletoextremesoftemperature,
acidity,andmoisture,andfoundinmostifnot
allanimals,includingfish.IntheUnited
Statesit’sespeciallyprevalentinpoultryand
eggs,apparentlythankstothepracticesof
industrial-scalepoultryfarming:recycling