Foods That Should Be Cooked Before Eating

Everyone has their own dietary preferences, whether it's in the variety of foods they choose or the method in how they're cooked. Restaurants offer dishes ranging from cooked, like filet mignon, chicken marsala, and salmon teriyaki, to those that never made it to a flame, like beef carpaccio, steak tartare, or even torisashi, known as chicken sashimi. Yet, these uncooked dishes can lead to potential issues, especially if not prepared correctly, while some should just be avoided altogether. Check out the foods that should be cooked before eating.

Some raw foods can lead to serious illness. According to the FDA, there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness each year, with 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. This means that about one in six Americans will get food poisoning in any given year, and even though it may not be severe enough to require hospitalization, it can still be very unpleasant. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with underlying health conditions or those who are immunocompromised are more vulnerable to the effects of food poisoning.

Eating raw meat carries risks of foodborne illness, because it may be contaminated with pathogens, bacteria, and parasites including E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. By cooking meat to the proper temperature, those microorganisms are killed, making it safe to consume. (Check out these foods that you might not know can be very dangerous.)

Some meats can be eaten undercooked (or rare) but pork is not one of them. It can contain the roundworm Trichinella spiralis, which causes trichinosis. It can also contain Taenia solium or Taenia asiatica which are tapeworms. Cook pork so that it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) for chops, steaks, and loins. Ground pork must reach 160°F (71°C). Also, let the meat rest for three minutes before you eat it as this allows the temperature to rise further.

Chicken and turkey should never be consumed undercooked or raw but game birds like duck, goose, and squab, can be served rare to medium rare. Chicken meat is not dense and harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter can be found in the center of it. Cooking will kill these bacteria and make the meat safe to eat.

Ground meat is inherently more dangerous than whole cuts of meat to eat raw, because if pathogens exist on the outside of the muscle, those will be mixed throughout when it's ground, and the higher surface area increases the risk of those pathogens being present. The meat used in steak tartare is usually ground or chopped by hand at the restaurant, so the risk of contamination is low. Raw supermarket hamburger meat? Not so much.

Wild game meats such as deer, elk, wild boar, and bear may carry parasites and bacteria that can cause infections if consumed raw. They need to be cooked thoroughly, to kill any potential pathogens. Some restaurants have game on the menu, like venison, that's cooked medium rare, but in those instances, it's safe to eat because it's farm-raised.

Raw shellfish including oysters, clams, and mussels, especially from warm coastal waters, can be infected with Vibrio bacteria. If eaten, this bacteria can cause severe gastrointestinal distress and even possibly death. Mussels are rarely if ever consumed raw, but eating raw oysters and clams is always a crapshoot.

If you visit a sushi restaurant, nearly all the fish you'll consume have one thing in common: it's ocean fish. Freshwater fish, especially largemouth bass and haddock, can harbor parasites such as tapeworms and roundworms, as well as bacteria like Salmonella and Vibrio. Sushi restaurants freeze their fish before serving it just to be safe, but freshwater fish needs to be thoroughly cooked to neutralize any foodborne illness risk.

Liver is an exceptionally nutritionally dense food packed with iron, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin A, and copper. However, it should never be eaten raw or undercooked. It can contain both pathogens and parasites.

Pregnant women, newborns, and people with compromised immune systems should be wary of eating processed meats like deli meats because of the increased risk of Listeria contamination during processing, slicing, or packaging. The same goes for hot dogs, sausages, and other processed meats; they should all be cooked thoroughly before consumption.

Precooked meats, like the grilled chicken breasts and roast beef that you find behind your supermarket deli counter, may also harbor harmful bacteria if they're not stored or handled properly. If you're pregnant, elderly, or have a compromised immune system, it's best to either heat them thoroughly before consumption or avoid them altogether.

Chugging down raw eggs may make you feel like Rocky, but it might also knock you out in another way. While not technically meat, raw or undercooked eggs can harbor Salmonella, a potentially deadly pathogen. It's recommended you always cook your eggs through when you're cooking up your breakfast that's worthy of being served at the best brunch restaurants in America.