Core Tip: Many Chinese people believe that raw meat is not edible. Do you know how dirty a piece of raw meat really is? However, after buying the meat, never rinse it under the faucet!
Freshly slaughtered raw meat is relatively clean with fewer bacteria, but it may contain parasites such as Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. After a person is infected with parasites, symptoms such as abdominal distension, diarrhea, and indigestion may occur.
At the same time, during storage and transportation, raw meat will gradually produce a large number of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Acetobacter, and Pseudomonas. This can cause symptoms in people such as diarrhea, fever, and enteritis. The parasites and bacteria in raw meat can cause great harm to human health. Fortunately, they can all be eliminated by sufficient high-temperature heating.
Therefore, from a safety perspective, except for organic meat or meat from a source you are particularly familiar with, it must be thoroughly cooked before eating.
Some people have the habit of rinsing the meat before cooking. However, this habit poses a significant health risk. Recently, the Victoria Department of Health in Australia reminded on its official website not to rinse raw meat under the faucet after purchasing it. Rinsing raw meat under the faucet not only fails to kill the bacteria on it, but the splashing water will also spread the bacteria throughout the kitchen—the sink, cutting board, countertops, knives... wherever water splashes, bacteria can spread. If you then wash raw-eating foods like fruits next time, they may become contaminated with bacteria, creating a food safety hazard.
Therefore, the Victoria Department of Health in Australia advises not to rinse raw meat under the faucet. You can wash it in a fixed basin and then pat it dry with kitchen paper towels.
Little trick to buy safe pork
There are three criteria for identifying whether pork is fresh—color, smell, and texture:
Skin is white, meat is firm and shiny.
The lean part of fresh pork has a uniform light red or bright red color, the cut surface has a marbled texture, the fat part is white and shiny, and the texture is firm and dense. Pork that is not fresh is often dark red or purplish-red, the fat loses its luster and appears grayish-yellow or even green.
Fresh and fragrant with no strange smell.
Surface is not sticky and has good elasticity.
When you touch the surface of fresh pork, it feels slightly dry or slightly moist, but not sticky, has good elasticity, the indentation from a finger press recovers immediately, and it feels firm. In summer, raw meat left for a long time can easily change. When you touch meat that is not fresh, it feels dry or a bit sticky on the surface, the freshly cut surface is moist, the indentation from a finger press does not recover immediately, and the elasticity is poor.