Pink chicken breast, safe to eat?
Pink chicken breast, safe to eat?
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-crookedtail-

Original Poster:

1,594 posts

220 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
quotequote all
Caught up with my housemate in the kitchen earlier, she was frying chicken breast. After a few minutes she then takes them out of the pan and starts cutting them up, nothing unusual thus far.

Still clearly pink in the middle she then cuts around the edges of the breast and puts the worse (uncooked) bit back in the pan to finish off, then eats the rest which is mostly white but still kind of pinkish!

I've always thought that any chicken should be thoroughly cooked through but is it ever safe to eat it whilst still pink?

Jonnas

1,004 posts

193 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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No

mattley

3,039 posts

252 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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These days it's probably fine assuming it was high street chicken, the same with pork (which can carry some very nasty parasites) . Most livestock is now raised in such a clinical environment that the chances of getting anything nasty is negligible.

pacman1

7,324 posts

223 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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I'd cope with slightly pink juices, but the meat has to be white.

gosh, I sound like a jamaican porn star!

Jonnas

1,004 posts

193 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
quotequote all
mattley said:
These days it's probably fine assuming it was high street chicken, the same with pork (which can carry some very nasty parasites) . Most livestock is now raised in such a clinical environment that the chances of getting anything nasty is negligible.
Would you sign that please Sir??

Mobile Chicane

22,020 posts

242 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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Absolutely not. Raw chicken harbours horrible bacteria.

Google 'campylobacter' if you want to have a glimpse at how 'really ill' feels.

hyperblue

2,914 posts

210 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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What the hell? That sounds disgusting!

mattley

3,039 posts

252 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
quotequote all
Jonnas said:
mattley said:
These days it's probably fine assuming it was high street chicken, the same with pork (which can carry some very nasty parasites) . Most livestock is now raised in such a clinical environment that the chances of getting anything nasty is negligible.
Would you sign that please Sir??
Of course I would.

There are two dangers related to undercooked meat, bacteria and parasites. Bacteria don't enter the meat they live on the surface so superficial browning is sufficient to kill them. The parasites have been pretty much eliminated for years in the developed world so unless the OPs housemate was eating really dodgy back street chicken from Africa she'll be fine.

edited twice due to foolishness





Edited by mattley on Wednesday 8th December 22:14

spikeyhead

20,562 posts

227 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
quotequote all
It came out quickly
I'd been expecting something, but not quite like that. There'd been a few rumblings and a bit of an ache.
I though it was going to just woosh.
Instead it wasn't too far off a firehose and as it hit the water it splashed almost everywhere.
When I say almost everywhere, my arse and legs saved the splashback from covering most of the ceiling. That's most didn't get covered, but a significant proportion did, as did a lot of the walls and the carpet was thrown out the moment I could move.

DO NOT EAT RAW MEAT

Roger645

1,796 posts

277 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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With chicken if the meat still has a "jelly" texture as opposed to one where you can see the individual meat fibres then it is not safe to eat.

Ritchie335is

2,152 posts

232 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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There is no way I would eat pink chicken but I did read somewhere that pork could be eaten pink. I have tried it as I always find pork dry.

I might have caught very bad aids or something from it though.

escargot

17,123 posts

247 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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spikeyhead said:
DO NOT EAT RAW MEAT
And miss out on the unutterable pleasure that is steak tartare?

I think not.

mat13

1,977 posts

211 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
quotequote all
Ritchie335is said:
There is no way I would eat pink chicken but I did read somewhere that pork could be eaten pink. I have tried it as I always find pork dry.

I might have caught very bad aids or something from it though.
Sure, thats how you caught it, we believe you.

toxicated

718 posts

243 months

Wednesday 8th December 2010
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I speak with the full authority of somebody who managed a beer drinker's degree in Microbiology - no, you'll get the sts.

Wadeski

9,046 posts

243 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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people cook the HELL out of pork and chicken.

If its translucent and raw looking, yes it needs more time. But just pink? err...thats how its sposed to look.

if its white all the way through, you are nuking it.

Melman Giraffe

6,794 posts

248 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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mattley said:
These days it's probably fine assuming it was high street chicken, the same with pork (which can carry some very nasty parasites) . Most livestock is now raised in such a clinical environment that the chances of getting anything nasty is negligible.
True. you can eat chicken raw if its not mass produced!!

Bill

58,820 posts

285 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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mattley said:
These days it's probably fine assuming it was high street chicken, the same with pork (which can carry some very nasty parasites) . Most livestock is now raised in such a clinical environment that the chances of getting anything nasty is negligible.
I'd agree about pork, particularly as they check for infection at slaughter.

However, salmonella isn't a surface bacteria but is carried by a diseased chicken. It's pretty tough and isn't killed by freezing but needs cooking to 75 degrees.

I'm happy with steak tartare, rare duck or lamb and pinkish pork but I'd always cook chicken properly.

F i F

48,923 posts

281 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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On this subject, some chicken dishes in Japan are not cooked thoroughly. A colleague was not aware of this. He ended up in hospital on a drip.

The person mentioned in the OP is a numpty. Darwinism.

ArtVandelay

6,692 posts

214 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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I did a nice bit pork tenderloin the other day that was slightly pink in the middle (and delicious!), I know that parasitic worm eggs can be found in the meat (by which I mean that I saw it on an episode of House MD) so is that okay? It was sealed on the griddle then cooked at 180C in a fan oven for 20 minutes.

smack

9,776 posts

221 months

Thursday 9th December 2010
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escargot said:
spikeyhead said:
DO NOT EAT RAW MEAT
And miss out on the unutterable pleasure that is steak tartare?

I think not.
I am with you there mate!