Raw meat. Should I be worried?

Was it beef? Bc beef can actually be eaten raw 🤢 i think it's disgusting. Had an ex that took me to a French restaurant and he had raw ground beef and raw egg. It was disgusting. But if it was beef I wouldn't worry to much about it

If he's sick, you'll likely know right away. They will show signs. Realistically it's probably unlikely as a toddler has some defenses against foodborne pathogens, more than a baby does. Just keep an eye on him, but good you caught it, and he'll likely be fine. 😊

@Brittany this is... not accurate. Yeah, some cuisines are weird and have been known to use raw meat, tartar is a thing, but that doesn't mean it's safe. Raw ground beef is macerated and pathogens are mixed in with the meat, particularly e. Coli, which is frequently present on beef. It's possible the French restaurant used some kind of food process to make the meat safe (cold irradiation could do this), but the average package you buy in the grocery store won't be treated this way.

@Melissa hmm interesting. Well I guess you learn something new everyday 😅

@Brittany @Melissa im from Wisconsin and we have something called cannibal sandwiches which is raw beef! Typically on a brown bread and served with raw onion and butter. The type of beef is a very very lean beef. The higher the percentage the better. It’s totally safe to eat at that high percentage! I believe 93% is the aim or higher. However beef lower than anything in the 90% is unsafe to eat raw. However I don’t think he’ll get anything because of the standards are packaged meat in the US. You should be perfectly fine OP.

At worst he will get the Sh1ts :) I wouldn’t worry

@Meghan i am from wisco too & we LOVE cannibal sandwiches! rye bread, raw beef, & butter is how i eat mine lol but i grew up on this. i was eating raw beef for as long as i can remember.

@Meghan that's... Not how beef works. When cows are slaughtered, e. Coli is in their intestines. It gets on the surface of the intact meat, both muscle and fat tissue, it's unavoidable. You can take measures to reduce the spread and contain it but it's going to happen. Meat tissue is safe on the inside, but only if intact. Once it's ground, pathogens are mixed into the grind, so anything on the surface of the meat gets mixed into the product. The US has a zero tolerance standard for e. Coli, which may be why your state considers it safe. Health Canada has determined that realistically there IS no possible way to control for e. Coli, so we treat all packages as possibly contaminated, and assume any uncooked beef is unsafe. The US assumes their zero tolerance policy covers it and conducts regular testing, but realistically outbreaks are still going to happen. This is also why you can get a rare burger in the states, but not Canada (and why I would never eat one, lol).

@Meghan I actually did a bit of digging (and joked with my Wisconsinite friend about this, cause she's had them and we both had a good laugh xD), and found out that warnings about the health risks of consuming raw and undercooked meat are in fact as much a holiday tradition in Wisconsin as the sandwiches themselves... 😅 https://racinecountyeye.com/2023/12/23/know-the-risks-cannibal-sandwiches/

Just watch him, I can guarantee he'll be fine even if he ate a little bit. If anything he'll get some food poisoning symptoms, just monitor and keep him hydrated

@Francesca he did in fact shit 3 nasty ones today lol but that was it