The potential health hazards of eating rare meat are not worth taking the risk of eating it undercooked. Next time you're asked how you want that steak, think about your health and order it well-done.

With summer BBQ season, there is always a rise in the number of food borne illnesses caused by consuming undercooked or improperly handled meat. When cooking veal, lamb or pork, the internal temperature of the meat should be 160 degrees farenheit. Poultry and ground meat need an even higher temperature of 165 degrees farenheit to kill pathogenic bacteria such as E coli and Salmonella.

Although most strains of E coli are harmless, some cause severe illness and occasionally it may lead to death, especially in the elderly or very young children.

There are precautions that can be taken to help prevent these illnesses. Always wash your hands after handling raw meat of any kind. Be sure to store all raw meat in a very cold environment until ready to be cooked. Wash all surfaces, utensils, dishes, etc. that come into contact with the raw meat. Never partially cook meat before an event and then transport it half-cooked to the new location to finish cooking it. New bacteria can develop and contaminate the meat during transportation. It is best to cook raw meat at the picnic site. Be careful not to cook too close to the flames and allow charring of the meat. It's best to cook it slowly. BBQ can heighten the risk of Salmonella infection if not done properly.

If you find that you have developed stomach cramping after having a BBQ style picnic where the meat was cooked outside on a grill, make sure to seek medical help. It is vital that you be sure to tell them that you ate meat cooked on a BBQ Grill.

The same dangers can occur from eating undercooked meat anywhere. And, once you realize the potential dangers of eating undercooked meat, maybe it's time to change your eating and cooking habits.

Learn more about this author, Susan Nagy.
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