If you must eat meat, apply some heat

There could be a nasty critter lurking in that rare cut.

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Your Back Page scribbler is as partial to a filet mignon prepared medium rare as the next carnivore, but he does draw the line at steak tartare.

Despite the urgings of Francophile foodies, when it comes to cow flesh, in this correspondent’s humble opinion there simply has to be at least a moderate element of heating involved prior to comfortable consumption.

And Australia’s Food Safety Information Council is in ferocious agreement with this stance.

Citing a recent study by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Australian National University, the council is on a mission to make more folks aware of a nasty infection called toxoplasmosis which is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

According to the council, very few Aussies have ever even heard of this disease, despite the critter causing around 15,500 cases of toxoplasmosis each year in this country.

The council’s chair, Cathy Moir, says there are two main ways to get toxoplasmosis: eating raw or rare meat or offal, or by coming into contact with domestic or feral cat faeces.

“Our research found only 17% of Australians have heard of toxoplasmosis but research shows 25% to 30% of Australians show signs of past Toxoplasma infections,” she said in a media release.

“This parasitic infection is very risky for pregnant women and their unborn babies as well as for people with compromised immune systems,” Ms Moir added.

More broadly, the study found an estimated 4.67 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year result in 47,900 hospitalisations, 38 deaths and a cost to the economy of $2.1 billion.

“Poorly cooked meat and poultry can be a major contributor to these statistics,” Ms Moir said.

“You can’t tell if your food is cooked safely just by looking at it. The only way to ensure your meat or poultry is cooked correctly is to purchase and use a meat thermometer.”

We would imagine there’s a substantial number of chefs out there, professional and otherwise, who would argue that last point, but we get the message.

If you see something that’s hard to swallow, spit it out to penny@medicalrepublic.com.au.