Consuming raw or undercooked poultry can be an unsettling experience. If you’ve accidentally eaten some raw turkey you may be wondering what steps to take next and how to reduce your risk of foodborne illness. Don’t panic – here is a comprehensive guide on what to expect and do if you’ve eaten raw turkey.
Understanding the Risks of Eating Raw Turkey
Raw and undercooked turkey may contain harmful bacteria including salmonella, campylobacter and E. coli. These pathogens can lead to foodborne illness if ingested. Common symptoms include:
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps and pain
- Fever and chills
- Dehydration
For most people, turkey food poisoning will resolve on its own within 3-7 days. But certain groups have a higher risk of complications:
- Older adults
- Pregnant women
- Young children
- Those with compromised immune systems
In rare cases, severe dehydration or kidney failure is possible. Seek medical care immediately if symptoms are severe or persistent.
What To Do Right After Consuming Raw Turkey
If you’ve just eaten some undercooked turkey, take these steps right away:
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water to prevent spreading bacteria.
- Assess amount eaten. Even a small bite warrants caution.
- Discard any remaining raw turkey to avoid others consuming it.
- Note the time the turkey was eaten. Symptoms typically appear 8-48 hours after exposure.
- Document any symptoms over the next 1-3 days.
Being proactive helps identify illness onset and determine if medical care is required.
How to Reduce Your Risk of Food Poisoning
Focus on reducing the likelihood of a severe reaction:
- Drink plenty of fluids like water, broths, or electrolyte drinks to prevent dehydration.
- Get lots of rest to allow your body to fight infection.
- Eat bland foods like the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast).
- Consider OTC anti-diarrheal and anti-nausea medications for symptom relief.
- If symptoms don’t improve within 24-48 hours or worsen, contact your doctor. Seek care immediately if high risk.
When to Seek Emergency Care After Eating Raw Turkey
In some cases turkey food poisoning can become life-threatening. Seek emergency care for
- Blood in stool/vomit
- Inability to keep liquids down for 8+ hours
- High fever over 101°F
- Signs of dehydration like extreme thirst or little urination
- Neurological symptoms like blurred vision or muscle weakness
These may indicate a severe infection requiring prompt medical intervention. Don’t try to wait it out if any of these symptoms develop.
Understanding the Longer-Term Risks
For healthy individuals, food poisoning effects typically subside within a week. However:
- Bacteria may linger in stool for weeks after symptoms end. Practice good hygiene.
- Some cases cause reactive arthritis lasting months or years.
- Those with compromised immunity may develop chronic reactive complications.
- Bacteria passed to a fetus can lead to preterm birth, stillbirth, or defects.
While food poisoning often resolves quickly, some risks can extend beyond the initial illness. See your doctor if any long-term issues occur.
Can I Take Steps to Prevent Infection?
Once consumed, focus is on damage control. However, some natural remedies may help reduce illness odds:
- Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to increase stomach acidity
- Load up on probiotics and yogurt
- Eat foods high in immune-supporting vitamin C, zinc and magnesium
- Colloidal silver has antimicrobial properties but kills good gut bacteria too
- Activated charcoal may help reduce toxin absorption
While unproven, these remedies could potentially minimize symptoms. Monitor your health regardless.
What to Do With Leftover Cooked Turkey
Discard any remaining raw turkey after possible contamination. Leftover fully cooked turkey that touched raw meat should also be thrown away to avoid re-exposure. However, thoroughly reheated cooked turkey that didn’t mix with raw juices may be safe to eat. When in doubt, throw it out.
How to Avoid This in the Future
This experience may have you rethinking poultry handling. Follow these food safety tips:
- Use a food thermometer and cook turkey to 165°F.
- Avoid cross-contamination with separate cutting boards.
- Wash hands and surfaces thoroughly after handling raw turkey.
- Refrigerate raw turkey promptly.
- Only thaw turkey in the fridge, cold water, or microwave.
- Only marinate fully cooked turkey.
Following food safety guidelines provides peace of mind when prepping turkey going forward.
What I Learned From This Experience
Dealing with raw turkey consumption can be stressful and uncomfortable. But it provides an important reminder to diligently handle raw meat safely. If you’ve accidentally eaten undercooked turkey, take steps to reduce foodborne illness risk, monitor your health, and see a doctor if concerning symptoms occur. While unpleasant, it’s an experience you can certainly learn from.
Signs That Turkey Has Gone Bad
If you know how long food will last and how to tell if turkey has gone bad, you can avoid eating spoiled meat. You can identify spoiled turkey by checking the texture, appearance, and smell. Though you should never taste spoiled food, flavor is another key indicator of spoilage.
- Surface that feels slimy or sticky: If the turkey feels slimy or sticky when you touch it, bacteria have started to grow on the meat’s surface.
- Color changes, like gray or green spots—Changes in the turkey’s skin color can mean that bacteria are growing or it’s going bad.
- Strong, unpleasant smell—If the turkey has a strong, unpleasant smell, it has probably gone bad.
- Musty or sour smell—A musty or sour smell can also mean that the turkey has gone bad.
- Sour, bitter, or rancid taste—If you taste the turkey and it tastes sour, bitter, or rancid, spit it out right away and throw away the rest of the meat.
- You should be extra careful not to eat the turkey if it tastes off. If it does, you could get food poisoning.
How Long Can Turkey Sit Out?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that turkey shouldn’t be left out at room temperature for more than two hours. This rule is for all kinds of turkey, like whole turkeys, turkey slices, turkey cold cuts, and ground turkey. When temperatures are above 90 °F, the time limit is just one hour. These time limits apply to both raw and cooked turkey.
If turkey is left out for longer than the suggested time, it should be thrown away to avoid getting food poisoning. It’s easy to forget how long turkey has been sitting out during the holidays when everyone is making a lot of food. Be mindful of the time and ensure your turkey is refrigerated or consumed within a safe time frame.
If you want to thaw a frozen turkey, put it in the fridge for a few days instead of leaving it out at room temperature. If you leave a frozen turkey on the counter to thaw, the outside can get to temperatures in the “danger zone” (40–140 °F), but the inside will stay frozen. This creates an ideal environment for bacteria to multiply rapidly, increasing the risk of food poisoning.
Watch me Gobble down Raw Turkey. Delicious!
FAQ
What happens if you accidentally eat raw turkey?
How long after eating undercooked turkey would you be sick?
What do I do if I accidentally ate raw meat?
How to prevent food poisoning from consuming raw turkey?
The best way to prevent food poisoning from consuming raw or undercooked turkey is by practicing safe food handling and cooking practices. Ensure that all poultry is cooked thoroughly before consumption and avoid cross-contamination by using separate cutting boards and utensils for raw poultry.
What are the health benefits of ground turkey?
Ground turkey has multiple benefits. It is a good source of minerals, and B vitamins, rich in proteins, low in fat and it is lower in calories than common turkey.
What if I accidentally ate raw or undercooked Turkey?
If you accidentally ate raw or undercooked turkey, there are some steps you should follow: If possible, remove any remaining pieces of uncooked meat from your mouth. Rinse your mouth with water. If you experience any symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea within a few hours after consuming the meat, seek medical attention immediately.
What happens if you eat raw turkey?
Eating raw or undercooked turkey can lead to food poisoning as it may contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella or Campylobacter. If you suspect that you have eaten raw turkey, take the following steps: 1. Don’t Panic It’s common to feel anxious or worried about your health after consuming raw turkey, but try not to panic.
Is it safe to eat raw turkey?
If the temperature of the internal part of the turkey has reached at least 165°F (74°C), then it should be safe to eat. However, if there are still parts that appear to be undercooked or raw, then it is best not to consume them. What Happens If You Accidentally Eat A Piece Of Raw Meat?
What happens if you cook raw turkey without cleaning it?
If you cook raw turkey on the same surface as other foods without cleaning it properly, you run the risk of cross-contamination. This means that bacteria from raw poultry could spread to other foods and cause food poisoning.