Raw Meat Bacteria

What are the concerns about feeding raw food (Meat) to your dog, naturally your vegetables would also be fresh and cleaned, however the concern here is about feeding raw meat, The sources of these bacteria are often found in poultry, eggs, unprocessed milk and in meat and water.

What are viruses?
Viruses are too small to be seen by the naked eye. They can't multiply on their own, so they have to invade a 'host' cell and take over its machinery in order to be able to make more virus particles. The cells of the mucous membranes, such as those lining the respiratory passages that we breathe through, are particularly open to virus attacks because they are not covered by protective skin.
What are bacteria?
Bacteria are organisms made up of one cell. They are capable of multiplying by themselves, as they have the power to divide. Bacteria exist everywhere, inside and on our bodies, most of them are harmless and some of them are very useful. But some bacteria can cause diseases, either because they end up in the wrong place in the body, or simply because they are 'designed' to invade us.

Salmonella, often found in badly cooked turkey or chicken. Symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. Spread by undercooked food or cross-contamination from raw foods in the kitchen. Around 15,000 cases of salmonella are reported to the Health Protection Agency each year. While the most common source of Salmonella infection is chicken and turkey.

The only effective way to kill salmonella bacteria is with heat.
For this reason it is essential to cook food thoroughly.

E. coli, is the abbreviated name of the bacterium in the Family Enterobacteriaceae named Escherichia (Genus) coli (Species). We all have E.Coli present in our body, however they are the good guys, but there is a strain of E.Coli thats bad for us (The bad guys). The rare strain of E. coli that is getting a lot of "press" lately because it is indeed a bad bug, is E. coli O157:H7. Bacteria are everywhere, but, anytime we eat or drink something, there is always the potential to ingest these bacteria.

The only effective way to kill E. coli O157:H7 bacteria is with heat.
For this reason it is essential to cook food thoroughly.

How to avoid infection

Wash your hands.
Meat should be cooked thoroughly.
Vegetables and meat must be stored separately and prepared on separate chopping boards.
Meat should preferably be served well-done.
Remember that food with these invisible organisms does not necessarily smell bad.

Those were a brief description of two bacteria types that can be killed be heat, there are others. Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni and Versinia enterocolitica to name a few more you should be concerned about.

Remember, Organisms can be controlled by heating, but can grow at refrigeration temperatures.


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