--- title: Sushi and Raw Beef: Why Can't I Eat Raw Meat? description: Well, you could. But you’d be rolling the dice. canonical: https://time.com/3731226/you-asked-why-cant-i-eat-raw-meat/ author: Markham Heid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-04T14:49:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:09.071Z article:section: Health og:title: You Asked: Why Can't I Eat Raw Meat? og:description: Well, you could. But you’d be rolling the dice. og:url: https://time.com/3731226/you-asked-why-cant-i-eat-raw-meat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23121c669ad8153d/69878205a988ca8caf6acc60/you-asked-raw-meat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: you-asked-raw-meat og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Asked: Why Can't I Eat Raw Meat? twitter:description: Well, you could. But you’d be rolling the dice. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23121c669ad8153d/69878205a988ca8caf6acc60/you-asked-raw-meat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Asked: Why Can't I Eat Raw Meat? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Mar 4, 2015 2:49 PM UTC  Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Mar 4, 2015 2:49 PM UTC Sushi restaurants are nearly as rampant as Starbucks stores. So why is raw fish okay to consume, while raw beef, pork and other land animals are typically not on the menu? For one thing, the parasites and bacteria that set up shop in raw animal meat are different and more dangerous than the ones you’d find in raw fish, says Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From salmonella and parasitic E. coli to worms, flukes, and the virus hepatitis E, Tauxe says the creepy crawlies that may inhabit raw meat tend to be more harmful to humans than the microorganisms you’d find in raw fish. “Perhaps it’s because our bodies are more closely related to land animals than to those of fish,” he explains. The way animals are slaughtered and packaged also has a lot to do with their health risks, says Dr. Eugene Muller, a microbiologist at Framingham State University in Massachusetts. “Parasites and bacteria tend to come from an animal’s gut, not its muscle,” he says. If your butcher nicks open an animal’s intestines, any harmful microorganisms released could contaminate all the meat the butcher is preparing. Packaged ground beef is particularly likely to house sickness-causing bacteria or parasites, says Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, professor of food science at North Carolina State University. That’s because a single package of ground beef could contain meat from dozens of cows, Jaykus says. “One contaminated animal could corrupt dozens of batches,” she explains. For that reason, she advises never eating hamburger that’s red or rare in the center. Both Muller and Jaykus say whole cuts of beef are less risky because they come from a single animal. “Anything harmful lives on the surface of the meat, not inside the muscle,” Muller says. “So if you like your steak very rare, just searing the outside will likely kill anything harmful.” Jaykus agrees, but says you have to watch out for something called “mechanically tenderized meat,” which involves puncturing the beef with small needles or blades to make it more tender. She says many restaurants and grocery stores sell meat that’s undergone this process because it improves the texture of cheaper cuts like sirloin or round. “This process can force contaminants into the muscle tissue where searing the outside won’t kill them,” she says. “You don’t see this at high-end steakhouses, but it’s an issue with steaks purchased for home cooking and in some restaurants.” ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME Most of these concerns and caveats also apply to lamb, pigs, chickens and other land animals—though Muller says pigs and chickens tend to carry some harmful microorganisms you don’t find in cows or sheep. “But I don’t think many people really want to consume raw pig or raw chicken,” he adds. Fish is a different story. Setting aside the differences between fish and mammals when it comes to the number, type, and frequency of potentially dangerous organisms they may harbor, fish tends not to be ground or mixed. That lowers the likelihood of a single disease-carrying salmon or tuna contaminating others, Jaykus says. Also, any raw fish you consume at a sushi restaurant are caught in colder waters and frozen before you eat them. “This kills the encysted worms and other parasites,” Tauxe says. Unfortunately, freezing doesn’t kill parasitic E. coli and many of the harmful microorganisms you’d find in meat, Muller says. With raw fish, oysters and other uncooked seafood, you’re taking a risk, Muller says—though not nearly as big a risk as eating that bloody tenderloin or tartare. _Read next:_ [_The 50 Healthiest Foods of All Time (With Recipes)_](http://time.com/3724505/50-healthiest-foods/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3731226/you-asked-why-cant-i-eat-raw-meat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3731226/you-asked-why-cant-i-eat-raw-meat/"},"headline":"You Asked: Why Can't I Eat Raw Meat?","datePublished":"2015-03-04T14:49:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:09.071Z","description":"Well, you could. 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