I’m not trying to embarrass anyone or hurt anybody’s feelings. I have had to learn a lot about preventing any kind of food borne illnesses for my relatives well being. Most of you will not get sick at all, by thawing your meat on the counter. Or you may have symptoms that you attribute to other causes. I believe that there have been lots of unreported food poisoining that have happened at dinner parties, potlucks and even in our own homes, but because the symptoms were not extreme, people didn’t even consider it to be food poisoining. Unfortunately when you have someone with a compromised immune system, something that would cause no problem, or just a few runs or farts or upset stomach to an average person, could kill the person with the compromised immune system.
I’ve done a lot of research on my own, and I’ve taken food safety courses and I’ve talked to countless doctors and nutritionists to get the food safety info that I need. I’m just trying to pass along some of what I have learned. But I also realize that people’s habits die hard and if you haven’t actually experienced (or known that you experienced) a problem, then you are not likely to change your habits. I’m always the type of person that favors better safe than sorry.
What I have learned is that most bacteria is not killed by freezing, nor are some parasites. They simply go into a kind of dormant state, until the thawing occurs. That is why keeping the temperature very low is important, because at certain temps, usually above 40 degrees, the bacteria start to multiply and the parasites (if there were any) become active again.
Flash freezing, which is only done in commercial plants (you can’t freeze food quickly enough or cold enough in a regular home freezer, not even one of those fancy subzero types) is the only type of freezing that can actually kill these nasty things. You can read more about how food borne illnesses happen and how they can be prevented here
I don’t expect anyone to change their minds or their habits based on anything that I have said, especially if you haven’t had any problems, that you know of, associated with this situation. But the same thing can be said for not wearing a seatbelt. Most people will not be killed in a car accident because they weren’t wearing a seatbelt, simply because most people are not in car accidents. But people that are in car accidents are far more likely to be killed if they aren’t taking the safety precaution of wearing a seatbelt. For me it’s just common sense. But some of you will come on and say it’s apples and oranges. I can’t do anything about that, if that’s how you are thinking.
I just have to try to do the best that I can for my family to keep them healthy and safe. And a little bit of planning is really all it takes.