Ate raw meat!?

[juju_1]

My health anxiety has finally been better. I went out with my boyfriend and we got nachos. After eating half, I saw pink, cold pieces of ground beef mixed in. They weren't bright red but definitely pink. And cold. We stopped eating it but now I'm terrified waiting for symptoms of ecoli or some kind of other food poisoning or tapeworm. What are the chances I'll actually get sick???

[nomorepanic]

people eat beef raw all the time

[Catherine S]

In Europe raw minced beef is served as Steak Tartare and is very popular. Here in Germany my OH eats this alot without any problem.

ISB ☺

[Mindprison]

I once knew a guy who ate his steak blue. Half a second on each side, done. :D

You'll be fine!

[Josh1234]

I like my steak begging for its life on my plate.

You'll be ok.

[bin tenn]

I like my steak begging for its life on my plate.

You'll be ok.

LoL, nice

[GlassPinata]

Rare steak is one thing. Rare or raw ground beef ("minced beef") is another, and is not recommended. That is because the meat of many different cows can be ground into one packet of minced beef, increasing the chances of the meat containing e.coli. It is not a good idea to eat undercooked or pink ground beef, although rare steaks and other whole cuts of meat are much safer.

That said, people do eat raw or rare ground beef all the time, either accidentally or on purpose. And e. coli outbreaks are uncommon.
The meat would have to be contaminated with e coli in order for you to contract e coli from it, and most packets of ground beef are not contaminated with e coli, although a few are. Consumer Reports Magazine recently tested 500 packets of ground beef they purchased from different sources, and not one of them was contaminated with e coli (although some contained other, less harmful bacteria).
The chances of contracting e coli from undercooked beef are probably less than one in a hundred; possibly as little as one in a thousand.
However, since e. coli is preventable by avoiding undercooked ground beef, it is advised that people cook their ground beef thoroughly.

E Coli is very seldom fatal, and almost never in normal, healthy adults.
In most healthy adults, it will cause little more than a bad case of diarrhea; most don't even require hospitalization.

You'll know if you have it 3 to 10 days after consuming the undercooked meat (average time 4 days).
As I said, it is very unlikely that you do, because most packets of ground beef do not contain e coli. It is screened for at the factory.
And even if you do, you'll probably recover without incident.

Most other possible contaminants and bacteria are of negligible concern.
E Coli is the only potentially serious danger. But like I said, it's rare.
If you aren't sick within the week, then you're probably in the clear.

Best wishes.

[Catherine S]

Yes, in response to G.Pinata's long and detailed post about the possibility of contracting e-coli, to correct my previous comment, the British/European raw minced meat that people eat here is actually good quality beef steak mince, and not the mince sold prepacked in supermarkets. However being British, I wouldn't know what is used in the American fast food outlets.

I'm sure you'll be ok juju1

ISB ☺ x