Too Much misinformation has been spread throughout the rowing world concerning raw protein. In this article, we’ll go through the pros and cons of raw protein, as well as how to stack them correctly prior to cooking.
To Prevent Cross Contamination And Prevent Food Borne Illness, Raw Animal Proteins Should Be Stacked By Type And Must Not Touch One Another.
When handling raw animal proteins, it is important to stack the foods properly. Raw animal proteins must be kept separate from one another when preparing for cooking or serving. These foods should never touch each other directly, even if you are using different types of packaging and containers. Any direct contact between raw animal proteins causes cross-contamination and can lead to food-borne illness.
The reason for this is that raw animal proteins are potential hosts for dangerous pathogens like salmonella, campylobacter, listeria, and E-Coli O157:H7. These pathogens can be found on the surface of the meat or eggs, but they can also be found in their internal juices as well. Stacking these raw protein sources incorrectly allows these juices to run down into other foods.
The Safest Way To Stack Raw Animal Proteins Is To Stack Them In The Order They Will Be Cooked, Starting With The Longest Cooking Time First.
It’s a common misconception that heating meat first and then stacking other raw animal proteins on top is the best way of handling them when you’re getting ready to cook. For example, if you need to cook chicken, beef, and fish, many people would stack them right on top of one another—the chicken on the bottom, the beef in the middle, and the fish on top—thinking this order would give each of them their own space while also ensuring they’d all be cooked at the same time. It’s not quite that simple.
The safest way to stack your raw animal proteins is to stack them in the order they will be cooked, starting with the longest cooking time first. That means that you would always put your chicken on the bottom, your fish in the middle, and your beef last. This ensures that the meat with the shortest cooking time is stacked below all other meats so it won’t accidentally get overcooked by those above it. This also helps retain moisture within meats with longer cooking times.
It’s important to note that this only applies when you’re precooking meats; you can safely stack raw animal proteins directly on top of one another if you’re planning to cook them together or serve them together without further heating.
Raw Proteins Should Never Touch Raw Vegetables Because Cross Contamination Is Likely To Occur, Leading To Food Borne Illness.
When you’re preparing food at home, regardless of the ingredients, it’s important to follow a few steps that are easy to remember and apply. When dealing with raw animal proteins—whether that’s fish, poultry or red meat—it’s crucial to keep them separate from any and all raw vegetables. If you don’t, you run the risk of cross contamination—that is, the possibility that those proteins will come in contact with those vegetables and pick up harmful bacteria that could ultimately make you ill.
What can happen when raw proteins are mixed with raw vegetables? Uncooked meat, poultry and seafood can contain bacteria like salmonella, listeria and E. coli. Food poisoning is the result of consuming foods that have these types of bacteria. These harmful pathogens can live on the surface of uncooked food, but if they come into contact with other foods in your refrigerator—including vegetables—they can be easily spread from one item to another.
Cross contamination is also possible if you don’t use separate cutting boards and utensils for handling each type of protein. If you were to cut up chicken on a cutting board that was previously used for slicing a tomato (or vice versa), you’d be transferring germs from one item to another.
Bacteria Can Multiply Quickly If It Finds A Suitable Environment And Ventilation Is Poor.
Bacteria can multiply quickly if it finds a suitable environment and ventilation is poor. In animal proteins, blood is the oxygen-rich environment that allows bacteria to grow quickly, which explains why meat should be cooked thoroughly.
When cooking meat, you have the option of dry-heat or moist-heat cooking. The dry-heat method includes broiling and grilling, while moist heat includes boiling or braising. Each method has its own set of requirements for food safety.
Dry-Heat Cooking: Broiling, roasting, and grilling are all dry-heat methods that require high temperatures in order to cook the food thoroughly before bacterial growth begins. For these methods, the food should be cooked above 160 degrees Fahrenheit throughout. This temperature will kill most bacteria; however, certain bacteria such as listeria and E coli can grow up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure foods reach proper internal temperatures before serving.
Handling Raw Animal Protein Correctly Will Help Ensure Safe Handling Of Cooked Products.
Raw animal proteins, such as beef, chicken and pork, can be contaminated with harmful bacteria that cause illness. Correct handling of these foods is important to prevent foodborne illness.
In order to safely handle raw animal protein, you should follow these steps:
1. Wash hands and surfaces often (e.g., counter tops, cutting boards) with soap and hot water.
2. Separate raw meats from ready-to-eat foods by using separate cutting boards, plates and utensils—do not use the same dish for both raw and cooked products.
3. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature of meat so it is cooked all the way through (rare, medium or well done).
4. Keep hot foods hot (over 140 degrees Fahrenheit) and cold foods cold (under 40 degrees Fahrenheit).
Last Words
In summary, stacking raw animal protein correctly will reduce the risk of cross contamination and foodborne illness. Foodborne illness is serious. The CDC estimates that about 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick from food poisoning every year. The most common source of this foodborne illness is contaminated raw animal protein products. Stacking raw animal proteins correctly can significantly reduce the risk of this happening.