Raw meat generally refers to any type of uncooked muscle tissue of an animal used for food. In the meat production industry, the term ‘meat’ refers specifically to mammalian flesh, while the words ‘poultry’ and ‘seafood’ are used to differentiate between the tissue of birds and aquatic creatures

Seafood

Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

.

Consumption of Raw Meat

The consumption of meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 has grown significantly during the last few years, with one estimate of the global average in 2000 to be 38 kg/capita. The United States of America has the highest consumption rate of meat in the world, estimated to be around 82 kg/capita in 2000 alone. While the majority of meat is cooked before eating, some cultural traditions such as crudos

Crudos

Crudo is a typical German-Chilean dish similar to a steak tartare. It is made by putting finely chopped raw beef mince into a piece of pre-sliced white bread and then adding lemon juice, chopped onions and a sauce made of yogurt and mayonnaise....

, steak tartare

Steak tartare

Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits, spicing it to taste, and then chilling it...

, sushi

Sushi

is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...

, sashimi

Sashimi

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...

, raw oysters, or other delicacies call for uncooked meat. The risk of disease from ingesting pathogens found in raw meat is significantly higher than cooked meat, although both can be contaminated. Meat can be incorrectly or insufficiently cooked, allowing disease-carrying pathogens to be ingested. Also, meat can be contaminated during the production process at any time, from the slicing of prepared meats to cross-contamination of food in a refrigerator. All of these situations lead to a greater risk of disease.

Raw meat diseases

Every year in the United States, 6.5 million to 33 million cases of illness are diagnosed due to microbial pathogens, with about 9000 deaths occurring annually as well. According to a multi-state study published in the America Journal of Preventative Medicine, the annual cost of disease caused by food borne pathogens is estimated to be anywhere from 9.3 to 12.9 billion dollars in “medical costs and productivity losses.” Most of these diseases come from contact with contaminated raw meat, although other “vehicles of transmission” are becoming more and more frequent due to global travel. Other sources of disease-causing pathogens can include, but are not limited to: lettuce

Lettuce

Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...

, sprouts

Sprouts

Sprouts may refer to:*Sprouting, the practice of germinating seeds, often for food purposes**Brussels sprouts, the most common meaning of the term in the United Kingdom**The sprouts of the mung bean, the most common meaning in the United States...

, fruit juices, vegetables, raw milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 and water. However, the main source of disease caused by microbial pathogens is usually raw meat. The type of pathogen present varies depending on the type of meat eaten. For instance, the most common pathogen found in beef is Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...

O157:H7, while Salmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...

serovars are more common in chicken and poultry.

Beef, Poultry and Seafood

There are many disease-carrying pathogens found in raw meats, and they differ according to the source, whether it be mammalian, poultry or seafood. Some disease-carrying pathogens found in beef are Salmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...

s, Escherichia coli, Shigella

Shigella

Shigella is a genus of Gram-negative, nonspore forming, non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria closely related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The causative agent of human shigellosis, Shigella causes disease in primates, but not in other mammals. It is only naturally found in humans and apes. During...

, Staphylococcus

Staphylococcus

Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria. Under the microscope they appear round , and form in grape-like clusters....

aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. Different varieties of Salmonellas are often found in contaminated poultry. Seafood itself can also contain a wide variety of pathogens. The most common pathogen in raw oysters is Vibro gastroenteritis, while Salmonella, Plesiomonsas shielloides, and staphylococcus are found in contaminated raw shrimp, and Ribrio cholerae has been found in raw crabmeat. Many of the symptoms that result from these diseases involve intestinal damage and can have potentially fatal effects for those at risk. The symptoms of an E. coli infection include bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and possible complications for the immune-compromised, elderly or children. These complications can include Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and neurological problems. The symptoms of Vibro gastroenteritis include frequent fevers, bloody diarrhea, long duration of illness and hospitalization. While most of these diseases are still most commonly found in raw meat, the instances of detection in other mediums are increasing. For instance, Salmonella is most commonly found in poultry, but has been recently identified in sources such as eggs

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

, dairy

Dairy

A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

, meat, fresh vegetables and fruits. E. coli has also been found in beef, lamb, lettuce, sprouts, fruit juices, vegetables, raw milk, and water. Possible reasons for the increase are the globalization of the food market, improper handling, and leakage.

Beef

• Escherichia coli
• Salmonella serovars
• Shigella
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Listeria monocytogenes

Shellfish

• Vibro gastroenteritis
• Salmonellas
• Plesiomonsas shielloides
• Staphylococcus
• Bacillus cereus

Safety precautions

Food can be contaminated at any step of production or cooking, especially those that occur at home before consumption. According to a study published in the Journal of Food Safety on consumer attitudes and awareness of disease, most outbreaks of food borne illnesses result from “contaminated raw foods, cross-contamination, insufficient cooking, inadequate cooling or a lapse of more than 12 hours between preparing and eating.” The study focused on habits of consumers in the kitchen with preparing raw meat. According to the results, 14% did not wash utensils or dishes between using them for raw and cooked foods, and 75% were unaware of the risks of storing raw meat on upper levels of refrigerators and the risk of cross-contamination below. The instances of Salmonellosis and Campylobacter have increased in the past decade, according to the study, most frequently because of the “improper handling of foods by consumers and food service workers.” Data gathered in a multi-state survey in 1999 found that out of 19,356 adults interviewed: 19% did not wash hands or cutting boards after handling raw meat, 20% ate pink hamburgers often, 50% ate undercooked eggs on a regular basis, 8% had raw oysters habitually, and 1% drank unpasteurized milk. These behaviors increase the risk of acquiring Salmonellas, Vibro vulnificus, Vibro gastroenteritis, and Escherichia coli.

History of U.S. Federal Meat Inspection/Regulation

The first instance of federal regulation of the meat industry occurred in 1890, when European markets began questioning the quality of American beef. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was given the power to make sure European standards were met, and in 1891 could inspect slaughtered livestock to be sold in the United States. The momentum for the creation of meat regulation laws in the 20th century was spurred by the publication of The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. Published in 1906, this exposé described the horrible and unsanitary conditions of the Chicago slaughterhouses and caused a public outcry for change. The Federal government authorized the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) in 1906 as a response. It “established sanitary standards for slaughter” and “mandated antemortem inspection of animals…and postmortem inspection of every carcass.” Another stipulation was that government inspectors must be in every meat production facility. This law did not originally cover poultry, just beef and meat from other mammals, because poultry was not being mass-produced in the early 20th century.
The federal meat inspection programs continued to be revised throughout the 20th century, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, in light of studies that showed more dangers not yet addressed. The current rule used by the FSIS, or Food Safety and Inspection Services, was published in 1996 and known as HACCP. This stands for the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Systems. It was originally developed by the Pillsbury Company to make sure that food used by the U.S. space program was safe, and later adopted and modified by the Federal government. The HACCP’s goal is to:
reduce the risk of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of meat and poultry products to the maximum extent possible by ensuring that appropriate and feasible measures are taken at each step in the food-production process where hazards can enter and where procedures and technologies exist or can be developed to prevent the hazard or reduce the likelihood it will occur.
According to an article on the HACCP system published in Risk Analysis, the seven principles of implementing a HACCP system are:

1. “Conduct a hazard analysis.
2. Identify the CCP’s (critical control points) in the process
3. Establish critical limits for preventative measures associated with each identified CCP.
4. Establish CCP monitoring requirements and procedures for using monitoring results to adjust processes and maintain control.
5. Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from an established critical limit.
6. Establish effective recordkeeping procedures that document the HACCP plan.
7. Establish procedures to verify that the HACCP system is working correctly.”

These measures try to ensure that the system is effective, reducing the risk of harmful pathogens sickening the public.

Current U.S. Meat Regulations/Programs

There are many federal laws and programs in place to attempt to lower the rates of food borne infection. They cover a wide variety of issues, including regulation of meat production (with specific quality standards) and programs to help educate the public about food safety. One such program, The National Food Safety Initiative (FSI) was launched in 1997 and focused on “improving data on pathogens, coordinating regulatory responses, consumer educational efforts and behavioral surveillance.” Industry efforts to lessen the spread of disease include milk pasteurization, “sanitary controls” on farms, and the development of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). The Critical Control Point, or CCP, according to a study published in the Journal of Food Safety in 2004, is “a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be applied, and as a result, a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels.” Food “processors must use CCP critical limits that have been scientifically validated” to prevent the growth of pathogens. Specifically for meat, since pathogens grow in warmer temperatures, the CCP is related to the time and temperature meat is allowed to remain. As of 2004, the maximum “regulatory limit” for poultry during production was 13 degrees Celsius.

Detection of Pathogens

There are a variety of methods used to detect and kill pathogens. The most effective, as expected, is to cook the meat to a high enough temperature to kill all growth, but meat can be re-contaminated during any step of the food production process, especially if workers handle both raw and cooked products. The risk of disease from a ready-to-eat (RTE) product such as chicken nuggets is significantly higher due to the fact that many consumers do not re-cook them, believing them to be safe. E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella have all been found in RTE products. A study of working practices in shops selling raw meats (including butcher’s shops, supermarkets and general stores) published in the Journal of Hygiene, found pathogens on slicing machines, wiping cloths, worker’s hands, towels, and nail brushes. This facilitated the contamination of already cooked meats. This example shows the need of a method of detection. The traditional method is based on using cultures examined under a microscope, which is time-consuming. A method tested in 2005 in a study published in Meat Science, is called multiplex PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and is based on the analyzing of nucleic acid and had promising results.