So my doctor told me to avoid cold cuts as much as possible or, if I want to eat them, I should heat them until they're steaming. I don't eat a lot of cold cuts so it didn't occur to me to ask this until much later but...
Is it ok to heat it until it's steaming and then put it in the fridge to cool back down for a bit? I mean... if there is listeria, the heat should kill it... can it come back that fast?
Re: Cold Cut Question
Yeah this is strange..... I have heard the deli meats but left overs??? Your left overs should be covered and they are left overs (you already ate it so heat it up and eat them again...)
I think the doctor meant don't eat leftovers cold....heat them up and eat them again.
I'm a food microbiologist. If you heat the meat to kill the bacteria, chilling it should be ok as long as you don't wait too long to eat it again. If you didn't kill off all the bacteria, they can start to make a comeback in the fridge.
Also a note about the "fine in moderation" argument. You are not at risk because lunchmeat and hot dogs are inherently "unhealthy" foods so limiting intake will help. I hear many women say that "they ate lunchmeat all the time and their kids are fine". It's not a cumulative thing that will make your child less active or dumber or something. It's an all or none thing. The Listeria will not harm your child moderately over time, it will kill your baby upon acute infection. Those with Listeriosis develop febrile illness in the mother and spontaneous abortion of the fetus. Believe me, you'd know if you had it and it only takes once. So please don't go with the "moderation" argument. Follow rules about Listeria-prone foods (in particular) or you are gambling with the child's life. While it is highly unlikely you will encounter infected products, don't risk it. Other forms of food poisoning are harmful because of dehydration in the mother (among other things), but Listeria monocytogenes crosses the placenta and will attack the baby.