How raw can you eat bacon

The nitrates and nitrites that are added to processed meat to preserve their color and flavor, transform into nitrosamines when in your body. Nitrosamines are carcinogenic in nature. The key to avoiding such extreme consequences is to limit the intake of processed meat like bacon and eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains, and exercise regularly to maintain weight. According to the USDA , following safety guidelines for cooking or handling bacon can reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses stemming from handling or eating the raw or undercooked meat.

First of all, you must keep the food contact and non-food contact counters clean. Then you must wash your hands before and after handling raw bacon. Raw bacon or any other raw meat should be stored away from other food products in your fridge. Bacon can be safely cooked in an oven, skillet, pan, or even in the microwave. A study has shown that the nitrosamine content of the burnt or over-cooked bacon is higher than well-done bacon. Smoking does involve a heating process but the heat is not high enough and the exposure duration to heat is not sufficient to safely eat smoked bacon without cooking.

You may be eating raw bacon all the time and not falling ill but this does not make the raw bacon safe to eat raw. Raw bacon must be cooked to ensure its safety. No — eating raw bacon is not considered safe to eat. This primarily comes down to the fact that consuming undercooked or raw meat of any kind increases your risk of foodborne illness, otherwise known as food poisoning.

Raw bacon and other raw meats may harbor harmful viruses, bacteria, and parasites. By eating bacon raw, then, you are eliminating the cooking process that kills what could harm you.

As a result, raw bacon is not considered safe to eat. Eating raw bacon can increase your risk of food poisoning. Common foodborne illnesses linked to undercooked or raw pork include:. In addition to this, though, there are also many other health concerns associated with eating bacon that you should be aware of.

Processed meat — including bacon, some sausages, hot dogs , and salami is modified to either extend its shelf-life or change the taste. The main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives.

As a result of the chemicals involved in the processing, consuming processed meats like bacon is linked to an increased risk of cancer, specifically of the colon and rectum. Center for Disease Control CDC advises , whereas heavily affected people can experience heart and breathing problems. Tapeworms , a class of parasitic worms that live in your intestines known to cause abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, and weight loss detailed information available at WebMD.

When pork is cooked, these infectious agents usually get killed by the rising internal temperature of the meat. Unless you intentionally want to get infected with them, stay clear of raw or undercooked bacon and pork as a whole. This is where many home cooks make a mistake by assuming that raw bacon is smoked, cured, and therefore as safe to handle as Italian prosciutto.

Uncooked bacon is raw pork—and you should treat it as such. Store it separately in the fridge, and always wash your hands, clean your knife, and sanitize your cutting board after handling it.

When storing bacon in the fridge, wrap it tightly in butcher paper and separate it from other foods, especially those you eat raw, like cured meats, cheeses, vegetables, and greens. After handling raw bacon, reduce your chances of cross-contamination by washing your hands and forearms with soap for at least 20 seconds, then rinsing them thoroughly with lukewarm water. Always clean the knife blade and handle and spatula body and handle you used for cutting and flipping the bacon with soapy water.

To protect the steel surface from corrosion, pat them completely dry with a paper towel. If you cut raw bacon on your cutting board, sanitize it in your kitchen sink immediately after this applies to both wooden and plastic boards.

With a scrub sponge, spread dish soap on the surface, carefully scrub all areas that came into contact with the meat, then pat it completely dry. Symptoms of trichinellosis, the disease caused by ingesting the parasite, include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, eye swelling and aching joints.

Severe infection can cause muscle incoordination, difficulty breathing and in rare cases, death. Severe symptoms can take up to two to eight weeks after ingestion to appear. Staphylococcus aureus, Toxoplasmosis gondii, Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can all contaminate raw pork. Bacterial contamination can occur on the surface of any food if someone handles it who carries the bacteria or if cross-contamination occurs during processing.

See your doctor if you develop gastrointestinal symptoms or any unusual symptoms after eating raw bacon.