Ate rare meat and scared ;-(

[HopeforFuture]

I feel so stupid and irresponsible. My husband and I went out for a meal tonight. I ordered lamb and it arrived pink and bloody. I stupidly ate half of it before I realised I shouldn't be eating it and now I'm petrified of developing a toxoplasmosis or listeria infection. Please help! It took me a long time to conceive and I don't want anything bad to happen to my baby.

 

[Jess137]

I haven't eaten anything rare, but I do eat my meat medium /medium rare and I also eat cold lunch meat, runny eggs and soft serve ice cream...my baby is fine so far! Also I had a cat up until I was about 5 months pg so I've already got immunity to toxoplasmosis. I think you'll be ok, it was only one time and the risk of listeria is extremely low in developed countries.

 

[xdxxtx]

The risk of getting sick from that is extremely low in a one-time situation. Just be careful not to do it again, that's all.

 

[MomPepperdine]

6Agreed with the ladys ^

 

[motherearth23]

I wouldn't worry! I ate a burger that was pretty medium-rare when I was 14 weeks, and things turned out fine! If you have doubts about the quality of the meat (poor restaurant hygeine/spoiled meat) then just ask your doc/midwife and I'm sure they can help you out with a solid answer!

 

[nzjade]

The chance of that particular piece of meat having listeria is very low, but it wouldn't stop me from freaking out too! My midwife said only one in 2000 people will get listeria, so I'm sure you'll be fine, but I always avoid ordering red meat at restaurants now because I can't control how rare it's going to come out. Even if you say well done sometimes they don't listen x

 

[iwantabub]

Resteraunt quality meat should be as safe as what u can possibly have as the standards of food storage and cooking should be top quailty... ive even medium lamb and stuff... my dads company has to comply with all the rules and he does seminars all the time ans the only thing he told me to avoid is salami and raw egg ... the other stuff is very very low risk

 

[thethomsons]

I honestly wouldn't worry x

 

[tah2012]

You should be fine. The biggest risk on meats like that is on the outside, which is why the outside is seared like crazy. My hubby's dad has worked in the food industry for many, many years and knows his meat (and safety rules). The internal temperature that needs to be achieved for safe eating is actually equal to medium-rare, for steaks and other like meat. Once meat is ground, it must be completely cooked through because surface bacteria can transfer throughout the meat in the grinding process. I still wouldn't go crazy eating meat on the rare side but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Here's a website that may prove helpful too:
https://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/ucm082294.htm

 

[Quailpower]

You should be fine. The biggest risk on meats like that is on the outside, which is why the outside is seared like crazy. My hubby's dad has worked in the food industry for many, many years and knows his meat (and safety rules). The internal temperature that needs to be achieved for safe eating is actually equal to medium-rare, for steaks and other like meat. Once meat is ground, it must be completely cooked through because surface bacteria can transfer throughout the meat in the grinding process. I still wouldn't go crazy eating meat on the rare side but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Here's a website that may prove helpful too:
https://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/ucm082294.htm

Exactly what I was going to say ^^

Listeria is more commonly associated with pork products also.

 

[pianogirl]

My doctor told me to avoid RAW meat. She never said anything about red meat and how well it should be cooked. I ordered a medium steak while out with my dad, who is a doctor, he said it should be totally fine. I think the other ladies are right, if it bugged you don't eat it again, but don't worry about it harming your baby. The odds of you getting listeria are very very low. You hardly ever hear of not pregnant people getting it, the odds don't go up if you are, it's just that the results of getting sick can be worse when you're pregnant. You shouldn't worry about it.

 

[daniellerdh05]

you'll be fine... dont stress

 

[HopeforFuture]

Thank you ladies for your reassuring comments. I contacted my midwife and she said that there would be something to worry about if I ate this sort of thing every week, but as a one off it won't cause a problem.

I'm happy and calm again

 

[Babushka]

Chances are your baby will be fine. Just make sure you have everything cooked well done in future. Go shopping for some baby items to take your mind off worrying instead of reading about all the bad stuff on the net!