How quickly do you know you have food poisoning?

[Bilby]

Question one has been dealt with but question two hasn't.

If you are referring to steak, unless the steak is contaminated in some manner, you should be fine with blue or rare steak. Same with most fishes. Talking about poultry - more of an issue. Likewise ground meat.

As to quantity, if the meat is contaminated, you are exposing yourself to a greater risk and therefore, in all likelihood, your chance of getting ill from it will increase. But in certain people, esp those with a weakened immune system like the elderly, young or infirm, the smallest exposure to dodgy food can produce food poisoning.

End of the day, if the food is good, not being thoroughly cooked is not relevant in a lot of situations, but if it is dodgy, you may have an issue.

[Bilby]

Hope your husband makes steady progress to good health Redkitty. I know how slow the rehabilitation can be.

[bigrhino2]

I got Campylobacter two years ago. I was sick for five days BEFORE I became paralized and had to be hospitized. This was the worst time of my adult life. I was in for 11 days and out of work for at least 7 more.
The bad thing is I remember the chicken wing I ate. I looked at it and said "OH this one is under cooked." Then I dipped it in blue cheese and I ate it.
I will never do that again. I bet I did not eat chicken wings for 2 months after that.

[Bilby]

Originally Posted by bigrhino2

I got Campylobacter two years ago. I was sick for five days BEFORE I became paralized and had to be hospitized. This was the worst time of my adult life. I was in for 11 days and out of work for at least 7 more.
The bad thing is I remember the chicken wing I ate. I looked at it and said "OH this one is under cooked." Then I dipped it in blue cheese and I ate it.
I will never do that again. I bet I did not eat chicken wings for 2 months after that.

I know what you mean!! I vividly remember the burger that gave me kidney failure, although not because it tasted bad but because I usually ask for something to be added or taken away to make sure it gets made up fresh but I didn't on that occasion. First burger I had when I eventually was up to it was from the same store cos what I had was pretty rare and I had been there several times in the past with no problem. (Close to work.)

[TATTRAT]

Originally Posted by GB

There are varying types of food poisoning. Some food poisoning may gave you a mild case of diarrhea and nothing else. You could also get a headache and nothing else. There are many many symptoms ranging from very mild to death.

Red I hope he gets better soon. That is horrible to hear!

Exactly. there are MANY things that can be attributed to food that are simply blown off. fact is, there are very few things that hit you right away. Normally there is a 24-5day grace period before something rears it's ugly head. Not to mention, food borne illnesses are some of the most misdiagnosed things in the medical world.

A lot of people are so quick to blame the restaurant that they were just at, though it could be something they cooked for themselves a few nights ago.

[jpmcgrew]

That why health inspectors are so important alot of places either dont keep foods hot enough or cold enough or throw it out soon enough.Then there is sloppy dirty cleaning.There are hundreds of way to let food contaminate if its not handled properly.

[crankin]

Originally Posted by Bilby

End of the day, if the food is good, not being thoroughly cooked is not relevant in a lot of situations, but if it is dodgy, you may have an issue.

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean that if the meat is from a reputable source that the risk of food borne illness is pretty small?

My initial reasoning for opening this thread was that I hate it when I am cooking a roast or any type of meat and I am not 100% sure that it is at the proper temperature (like sometimes my thermometer will say 140 or so for pork or 120s for salmon and I am not sure if it's safe). So I just want to know how much I should be concerned for things like that. Along those lines, whenever I eat a piece of meat that I feel is questionable in terms of whether it was as done as it should have been, I wonder how long it is until I am "clear" or if illness could still occur.

[Katie H]

Originally Posted by crankin

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean that if the meat is from a reputable source that the risk of food borne illness is pretty small?

My initial reasoning for opening this thread was that I hate it when I am cooking a roast or any type of meat and I am not 100% sure that it is at the proper temperature (like sometimes my thermometer will say 140 or so for pork or 120s for salmon and I am not sure if it's safe). So I just want to know how much I should be concerned for things like that. Along those lines, whenever I eat a piece of meat that I feel is questionable in terms of whether it was as done as it should have been, I wonder how long it is until I am "clear" or if illness could still occur.

Thanks for clarifying, crankin. When I read your initial post, I was under the impression you were talking about "non home cooked" food, that is restaurant-prepared food.

[crankin]

Originally Posted by Katie E

Thanks for clarifying, crankin. When I read your initial post, I was under the impression you were talking about "non home cooked" food, that is restaurant-prepared food.

Yes, I was referring to home-cooked foods. I am not so worried about restaurant food because I feel like that is one of those things where if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. There isn't much I can do about it (other than send the food back). But at home I am ultimately responsible for the food and so I feel responsible if the food is undercooked.

[Bilby]

Originally Posted by crankin

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean that if the meat is from a reputable source that the risk of food borne illness is pretty small?

My initial reasoning for opening this thread was that I hate it when I am cooking a roast or any type of meat and I am not 100% sure that it is at the proper temperature (like sometimes my thermometer will say 140 or so for pork or 120s for salmon and I am not sure if it's safe). So I just want to know how much I should be concerned for things like that. Along those lines, whenever I eat a piece of meat that I feel is questionable in terms of whether it was as done as it should have been, I wonder how long it is until I am "clear" or if illness could still occur.

Wasn't getting into reputable sources at all. Just meant that if it isn't contaminated in some way. For the person cooking it, pretty much just food handling and storage techniques. Very few of us actually know how the food is handled up until the time we receive it so you are somewhat limited by sight and smell of the meat/fish. I assume that we all generally only buy food from places we feel are reliable.

Fish and steak (beef, lamb and presumably veal, venison and other meats) can be served rare, cured or even raw. Pork used to need to be cooked thoroughly but over here in Oz, it is now being marketed that it may be cooked to medium-rare, although most still aren't comfortable with the concept. (I don't eat pork though so my knowledge is limited.) Poultry that isn't properly cooked I would be more suspicious of.

I don't use a meat thermometer but look at the juices instead and use a skewer. It isn't how I was taught to cook and I haven't felt the need to use one, although I do have a meat thermometer somewhere...

Also when cooking a roast, keep in mind that the meat continues to cook a little while it rests, esp when talking about seafood. I eat lots of meats/seafood either raw or done as a cerviche or other semi-cured style. And it isn't the most likely way that I will get ill if the ingredients are good. If you are carving a roast and discover a bit that you think is too undercooked, cut around it as you can put it back in the oven to finish cooking without worrying about your diners.

If you are confident of the ingredient before cooking it, then being out a couple of degrees I wouldn't have thought would be an issue but maybe someone who uses a thermometer will be better to clarify that point.

As already mentioned, the time taken to incubate the organism/bacteria enough to show food poisoning symptoms will depend on the organism/bacteria as well as your tolerence. When I got sick, I had next to no tolerance as I was really run down having been super busy at work and super stressed having my position dissolve underneath me!! Different time, I may have been able to resist the bug better.