How can we eat certain meats raw?

Question from Eduardo Raffaele

Like us, animals carry microbes, most of which live on the skin or in the digestive system. Whole cuts of beef tend to be safe to eat rare because their muscles are large and the inside doesn’t come into contact with their guts or skin.

But with smaller animals, like chickens, the chance of contamination is high. Fish carry different microbes, and, although they are small, freezing them helps to kill their parasites before they get to the table.


Answered by Laura Mears for Brain Dump in How It Works issue 120.

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