Why You Can Eat Raw Fish But Not Other Raw Meats

Raw fish is pretty tasty if you like sushi, but eating other raw meats is a terrible idea. The parasites and bacteria in some raw meat, like pork or chicken, are a lot more dangerous than the bacteria in fish. SciShow breaks it down.

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Eating any kind of raw meat can be risky, but some meat is riskier than others, they explain, because of the cut, the way it’s stored and, of course, what kind of microbes and parasites live in that type of animal. Raw fish can be infected with dangerous parasites, but generally, if it’s been frozen or it comes from a clean kitchen, it’s probably safe. Other meats are trickier, though. SciShow’s Hank Green explains:

Now, what about other meats, like beef, chicken and pork? The bacteria that live in these animals, like strains of Salmonella and E. coli, tend to be more dangerous to humans than any that live in fish. Many harmful microbes live in cattle guts, not the muscle where we get cuts of steak. But beef can be contaminated if a butcher punctures the digestive tract. So steaks might have bacteria on the surface. Usually a good, hot sear is enough to kill off anything infectious, and leaving the inside red is fine, because it’s sterile in there.

Ground beef, on the other hand, is a little more dangerous, because any of those surface germs can be mixed inside. For that reason, you probably don’t want to eat raw hamburger meat. The video goes into a lot more detail, so check it out above or at the link below.

Why Do We Eat Raw Fish But Not Raw Chicken? [SciShow (YouTube)]