Medium Rare Steak

smellymm83

I went out for dinner and even think before ate an had a medium rare steak.  now I find out I shouldn't eat meat that isn't well cooked. now I'm nervous I've accidentally harmed our baby  

ASmallWonder

Ground meat needs to be cooked through but not steaks.  The bacteria lives on the outside of the meat so with a steak the outside is cooked but gets mixed in when ground so you have to cook it through.

DelBride2012

Ali&Luke:

smellymm83:

I went out for dinner and even think before ate an had a medium rare steak.  now I find out I shouldn't eat meat that isn't well cooked. now I'm nervous I've accidentally harmed our baby  

According to who? I eat my steaks med-rare and my kids are all fine. 

I know that everyone likes anecdotes, but this really is terrible evidence of, well, anything. Even some of the scarier pregnancy risks are going to affect a relatively small group of women. For example, the great majority of the women who drink through pregnancy will not have children with fetal alcohol. 

This is my understanding. Steaks and ground meats alike can harbor bacteria that cause food poisoning. Most won't, and the risk is fairly remote, but many doctors recommend staying away from medium-rare steaks to mitigate the risk. If you don't suffer the effects of food poisoning after eating, you can probably stop worrying, since that is the primary harm the recommendation targets.

SarahJean0

Oh geez, you and that baby will be fine!! Get this- I ate lunch meat and drank diet coke today!!

Moderation is the key, don't stress yourself out. In most other countries they don't give women so many restrictions like they do here. Enjoy yourself while your pregnant, just stay away from the crack, that will get ya every time.

futuremrscanet

SarahJean0:

 Enjoy yourself while your pregnant, just stay away from the crack, that will get ya every time.

You are awesome! 

jenyjeny

Don't stress about it. It's like everyone has said: moderation is key. 

I would have eaten it too, and I would have LOVED it Don't worry one bit about it.

 

this decaf life

If you're eating a medium rare steak at a legit place you should absolutely be fine. A medium rare steak from say... Applebee's isn't as safe because it's been frozen.

myatala

I wouldn't worry overmuch about a medium-rare steak that's been properly handled and prepared.  I wouldn't judge anyone who chose to avoid medium-rare steak during pregnancy, though.  We all have to evaluate potential risks and make our own choices.

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines

It's fine. Any bacteria would  be on the outside of the steak, which is well cooked.

jennadoll87

Yeah under-cooked meat always has a risk of some form of bacteria...a low risk... Nothing to get worked up over. Everything in moderation. You and baby will be fine, but if you feel that bad about it, you can choose not to eat anymore steak during your pregnancy. I choose to indulge when the craving calls. I've had a few steaks so far this pregnancy (as well as the last) and we're all perfectly healthy.

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines

this decaf life:

If you're eating a medium rare steak at a legit place you should absolutely be fine. A medium rare steak from say... Applebee's isn't as safe because it's been frozen.

... wait, what? WTF does being frozen have to do with anything? 

Randa&Jerm

SarahJean0:

Oh geez, you and that baby will be fine!! Get this- I ate lunch meat and drank diet coke today!!

Moderation is the key, don't stress yourself out. In most other countries they don't give women so many restrictions like they do here. Enjoy yourself while your pregnant, just stay away from the crack, that will get ya every time.

The problem is that moderation in cases of lunch meat and other possible foods that are known risks of bacteria is that its not moderation that is key its avoidance or rather, one that weighs the risk factor.  Someone can eat deli meat or rare steaks for every meal during pregnancy and be fine, yet someone can eat it one time and get sick from that one infected source. It only takes one time.  Its not like taking it easy on sugars or foods high in sodium or something like that where moderation is really key.

Now don't get me wrong, I have eaten deli meats and had a med rare steak last night for dinner, but it just bugs me when someone says moderation is key in cases like this, where it has nothing to do with moderation, rather than the risk you are taking if the food you are eating has bacteria in it. 

 

 

 

lindsey913

Randa&Jerm:

SarahJean0:

Oh geez, you and that baby will be fine!! Get this- I ate lunch meat and drank diet coke today!!

Moderation is the key, don't stress yourself out. In most other countries they don't give women so many restrictions like they do here. Enjoy yourself while your pregnant, just stay away from the crack, that will get ya every time.

The problem is that moderation in cases of lunch meat and other possible foods that are known risks of bacteria is that its not moderation that is key its avoidance or rather, one that weighs the risk factor.  Someone can eat deli meat or rare steaks for every meal during pregnancy and be fine, yet someone can eat it one time and get sick from that one infected source. It only takes one time.  Its not like taking it easy on sugars or foods high in sodium or something like that where moderation is really key.

Now don't get me wrong, I have eaten deli meats and had a med rare steak last night for dinner, but it just bugs me when someone says moderation is key in cases like this, where it has nothing to do with moderation, rather than the risk you are taking if the food you are eating has bacteria in it. 

 

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to explain this. This argument makes me stabby but I rarely have the patience to explain why it makes no sense at all. 

WVUPetunia

Now don't get me wrong, I have eaten deli meats and had a med rare steak last night for dinner, but it just bugs me when someone says moderation is key in cases like this, where it has nothing to do with moderation, rather than the risk you are taking if the food you are eating has bacteria in it.

This is a good point.  I think part of the problem is that people want to demonize certain foods, like for example deli meats, when there have been listeria outbreaks in plenty of other foods including cantaloupes and within the last few weeks, bagged salad.

DelBride2012

jjr1214:

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines:

It's fine. Any bacteria would  be on the outside of the steak, which is well cooked.

This. Like someone else said, hamburgers and ground meat should be cooked thoroughly all the way through. Med-rare steak should be fine. 

What are you guys taking about?? Some bacteria are more of a problem in ground beef, but I would love to see a source for this claim that all the bacteria that cause food poisoning are only on the outside of meat. If that were true, steaks, pork chops, chicken breast, etc would never cause food poisoning. 

ASmallWonder

DelBride2012:

jjr1214:

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines:

It's fine. Any bacteria would  be on the outside of the steak, which is well cooked.

This. Like someone else said, hamburgers and ground meat should be cooked thoroughly all the way through. Med-rare steak should be fine. 

What are you guys taking about?? Some bacteria are more of a problem in ground beef, but I would love to see a source for this claim that all the bacteria that cause food poisoning are only on the outside of meat. If that were true, steaks, pork chops, chicken breast, etc would never cause food poisoning. 

You'll see here that the internal temp for ground meat and whole pieces of meat are different and that is because the fibers of a whole piece of meat do not harbor the bacteria that is on the surface.  But once you grind it, you've mixed the outside with the rest.  Salmonella is the issue with chicken and we're not talking about chicken here, we're talking about beef.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Beef_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp#25 

BronzeMama

What an interesting and well informed discussion. I had wondered about medium rare steaks myself.

 As far as clean preparation... I've seen people get sick at BBQs and at some of the lower end restaurants, so I've been avoiding the lower end pseudo fast food spots, I've been eating at home before I go to BBQs and once there, only getting food hot and fresh off the grill (I skip all salads, period, unless I see them prepared myself.)

Interestingly enough, though I'm not a vegan, I've found it difficult to eat any kind of meat during this pregnancy. I smell it and sometimes I eat but most times I think it smells funky. I wonder how much my own body knows what's good for me and what's not good for me (aka harboring bacteria) simply based on smell?

That said, I did sneak and have two raw oysters (as opposed to say, the 30 or so I can usually suck down.) YUM. I didn't get sick, but my DH was not happy that I indulged. I wish there was a way better way to police raw seafood, which I love...

 I hate the all or nothing approach.

KorieAngela

You could get Listeria...but you can also get it from fresh fruit at the grocery store. I wouldn't be worried. You will be fine. I have eaten raw meat and eggs throughout my whole pregnancy.

JessaPrimate

I have also eaten meat cooked less than well done. Meat from reputable sources. I will remind everyone that my boss's sister lost her baby at 7 months from eating rare venison that turned out to have toxoplasmosis.

hpoff33

I'm pretty lax when it comes to what I can and should not eat.  I've had all kinds of cheeses and even the occasional glass of wine or beer.  However, there were two things my OB was pretty clear on staying away from.  Packaged deli meat and under cooked meats of any kind, steak included.  The potential risk for bacteria is high in those two foods, so I chose to listen to her advice and stay away.  Each to her own though.  I have friends who ate med-rare steak throughout their pregnancy and they were fine and I am sure you will be too.  So please enjoy it for the both of us!!  I miss steak.

skyeper

There's a difference if a steak is frozen, because they have to thaw it to cook it which can give more time for bacteria to grow. 

argonne

jjr1214 said:

DelBride2012:

jjr1214:

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines:

It's fine. Any bacteria would  be on the outside of the steak, which is well cooked.

This. Like someone else said, hamburgers and ground meat should be cooked thoroughly all the way through. Med-rare steak should be fine. 

What are you guys taking about?? Some bacteria are more of a problem in ground beef, but I would love to see a source for this claim that all the bacteria that cause food poisoning are only on the outside of meat. If that were true, steaks, pork chops, chicken breast, etc would never cause food poisoning. 

Chicken and pork are different. Pork carries more parasites in the muscle itself, while commercially prepared chicken is injected with flavoring that moves bacteria from the outside of the meat to the inside. Almost all bacteria that causes food poisoning is a result of fecal contamination and doesn't naturally grow in the muscle itself, so with steak when the outside is seared the bacteria that may be present is taken care of. There is still a slight risk of toxoplasmosis but that is more common with pork and lamb. I will look for a good link but I work in a food microbiology lab so that is where I got my information. 

Even pork can be eaten rare now. The concern with pork is also trichinosis, which there hasn't been a case of since the 80s, I believe. Also, most people that have ever had a cat are immune to toxoplasmosis.

JayLo21

You didn't inject heroin sweetheart it's medium rare steak...... My oh my

Luna C

Ali&Luke:

smellymm83:

I went out for dinner and even think before ate an had a medium rare steak.  now I find out I shouldn't eat meat that isn't well cooked. now I'm nervous I've accidentally harmed our baby  

According to who? I eat my steaks med-rare and my kids are all fine. 

 Steaks and ground meats alike can harbor bacteria that cause food poisoning. Most won't, and the risk is fairly remote,

 

***

Spinach is more likely to have bacteria. No one recommends staying away from that. We need to be a little more realistic about just how "dangerous" these foods are.

OP: If you didn't get food poisioning, you're fine.

Pepper6

argonne said:

jjr1214 said:

DelBride2012:

jjr1214:

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines:

It's fine. Any bacteria would  be on the outside of the steak, which is well cooked.

This. Like someone else said, hamburgers and ground meat should be cooked thoroughly all the way through. Med-rare steak should be fine. 

What are you guys taking about?? Some bacteria are more of a problem in ground beef, but I would love to see a source for this claim that all the bacteria that cause food poisoning are only on the outside of meat. If that were true, steaks, pork chops, chicken breast, etc would never cause food poisoning. 

Chicken and pork are different. Pork carries more parasites in the muscle itself, while commercially prepared chicken is injected with flavoring that moves bacteria from the outside of the meat to the inside. Almost all bacteria that causes food poisoning is a result of fecal contamination and doesn't naturally grow in the muscle itself, so with steak when the outside is seared the bacteria that may be present is taken care of. There is still a slight risk of toxoplasmosis but that is more common with pork and lamb. I will look for a good link but I work in a food microbiology lab so that is where I got my information. 

Even pork can be eaten rare now. The concern with pork is also trichinosis, which there hasn't been a case of since the 80s, I believe. Also, most people that have ever had a cat are immune to toxoplasmosis.

Shhh...don't tell my H that.  I'm enjoying my reprieve from cleaning the litter box ;-P

Sareynoo

I'm sure you're fine!