New regulations take effect for restaurants serving raw beef dishes

I thank those 4. Rip.

are required to cook the surface of beef up to one centimeter deep at 60 degrees to kill bacteria before cutting raw meat from inside.

doesn't seem practical but not impossible if cooks and inspectors are of the highest caliber ! Cost will go up 200% ?

People shoudn't be eating "raw meat" in the first place.

How many becquerels per kilogram of caesium 134 or 137 will sterilize beef? Have government limits been altered to be high enough? I knew there must a silver lining here somewhere!

Great that it will still be served, it is oh-so tasty if done well. Also commonly eaten across europe, etc.

Raw chicken can be tougher to regulate and don't even consider touching my Basashi. ;)

One of favourite dishes, I was so disappointed when those poor people died for two reasons, one, I thought it would no longer be served anywhere and secondly, the newfound fear of one of my favourite dishes. I just hope they follow the new procedure so at least their deaths weren't a complete waste.

So will my favorite raw liver sashimi still be served?

Cooked sashimi??????????

Raw chicken? Please reserve your hospital bed in advance of consuming that particular choice of menu

Mmmmm... just had yuke on Friday! My husband is happy to see it being served again. Raw chicken is also delicious but aP with any food, you have to select the restaurant carefully.

It wont be the same anymore. I guess I will just have to revert to purchasing and preparing it myself in the comfort of my home.

To hell with the regulations! I am a carnivore and I love red meat! Why kill it twice, it should still be mooing when eaten!

Some of you enjoy raw meat? Well you deserve the consequences. No one else to blame but yourself.

What consequences?

Raw or semi-raw meat has been consumed by many nations for centuries and they thrived and became empires.

Don't knock it till you tried it yourself, is what I am saying. ;)

Some of you enjoy raw meat? Well you deserve the consequences. No one else to blame but yourself.

If properly handled and prepared raw meat is a delicious addition to just about any meal.

That goes for any food as well, proper preparation and handling is the key.

I once made the mistake, under heavy pressure from all the other people at my table, and after several beers, of eating raw beef. I'll never make it again.

"What consequences?"

Four people dead consequences.

Blame the shop and not the dish. How many died recently in the USA due to eating certain melons? IIRC, was a higher number than 4.

Christina O'NeillOct. 02, 2011 - 10:24AM JST Raw chicken? Please reserve your hospital bed in advance of consuming that particular choice of menu

Japanese chicken and eggs do not harbour selmonella so is much safer to eat than chicken from other countries. The chicken eaten raw is only from one part of the chicken.

The lack of hygiene in cheap and medium priced restaurants all over in Japan can kill and sicken more people than the raw beef. it's just they don't come to light as it's not easy to identify the cause of the sickness.

I don't think I have the energy to post all the horrors I have seen, just a few ones I have noticed peeping in ramenya and other cheap and mid. restaurant kitchens.

Mouses and cockroaches in kitchen, dirt all over, one sink of dishwater for all day it's black and stinky and they use the plates without rinsing, leaving some residual of it in it. Detergent residual in the ramen or in the main dish. Huge block of pressed, frozen inedible residue from slaughterhouses that are not even accepted by zoos as inappropriate to feed even animals are left on the floor in plastic bucket to defreeze. Actually I saw in zoos, animals get better quality meat. No qualified cooks. One fill of oil black and burned for weeks, my car motor oil must be tastier and safer. Unwashed hands after cooks finishing their job in the toilet. Waiters touch the food, pan, squeeze the lemon in the soup with hands unwashed after touching money at the counter.

And the worst ever, the same window for handing in the dirty plates from the table and to give out the meal, waiters collecting the dirty glasses, cups with their thumb soaking in the leftover and serving the meal the same way their thumb hanging in the fresh meal.

Not so sure.

I got friends that are food/hygiene inspectors in a few countries and they all say your average "Greasy Spoon" is better run and cleaner than "starred" restaurants.

Bit of over-reaction there?

Bit of over-reaction there?

Well I many times thought of whether we have the same here in Japan. i think there are too many small restaurant to inspect them.

I got friends that are food/hygiene inspectors in a few countries and they all say your average "Greasy Spoon" is better run and cleaner than "starred" restaurant

That's "other" countries not Japan. The health department authorities do not inspect places here with any regularity like they do in "other" countries. I have to agree with Munya's post that there are some place that would make one's stomach crawl at the sight of how unclean the establishments are and how poorly they handle and prepare food.

Yes, the same exist here. If not you would have way more food-poisonings, etc. Cases like the one discussed here are rather rare and thus make the head-lines.

I read the newspapers from many countries daily and it is frightening what I read, but life goes on.

Of course some restaurants would be a bit grottier than others but a bit of dirt or bacteria doesn't hurt. In fact, there are those who say we are all too clean these days and that causes other problems like skin issues etc. Children in poor countries rarely have serious skin conditions because they do live in dirty places and that toughens them up....apparently.

The facts are: Raw beef and chicken both harbor a very dangerous parasite that can and has killed people (obviously). The same parasite is not present in horse meat. The parasite reproduces when the meats are brought to room temperature and then re-refrigerated. Anyone with a bit of basic food preparation knowledge should know this. Judging the safety of any food by your choice of restaurant is also rubbish cos you do not know where they got their food. If you remember the cases of the yuke deaths, it was from the supplier and not the actual outlets.

Correction:

Raw beef and chicken "CAN" both harbor a very dangerous parasite(s).(multiples to be correct here).

Add to that that Pork, veggies, etc harbour way more dangerous parasites, etc.

Got to ask.

If I take that juicy US angus steak out of my fridge and just sear the edges for a rare steak will I get sick from it? We are talking eating meat here that is 80-90% rare/raw. Ditto for a good rare roast-beef, etc, etc.

Now If I mince that nice raw angus steak and make Yuke from it???

This new ruling makes no sense. The problem was that meat labeling was falsified. There are grades of meat that can be eaten raw, and a meat packing company labeled lesser grades of meat as edible raw to maximize profits. I do not see how this new regulation deals with the problem that occurred at all.

Again 100% wrong. Japan has NO certification for meat to be eaten raw, etc. Hence no mislabelling happened.

The new guidelines though will cover most possible contamination issues, as is commonly known for anyone that followed the topic/subject. On same token new guidelines will drive up the price as there is or waste meat now.

or = more

Oh really? Then NHK was lying through it's teeth, as well as Hodo Station when they did the reports on it? They sold the meat for a much higher price than it was worth. Documents from the meat company were shown onscreen.

And what's with the 'again'?

Yes, meat was sold above its ranking but that has nothing to do with the poisoning and subsequent deaths.

The again is for the consistant J-bashers on here that use ANY topic to rant and post against anything japan.

Since when am I a "J-basher'?

The ministry's sanitary standard for edible raw beef was set in 1998 after a fatal food poisoning in 1996. In this incident, eight people died after eating raw beef liver and other food tainted with enterohemorrhagic E. coli O-157. The standards require meat processors that ship meat to be eaten raw have equipment for handling raw meat and process the meat at 10 C or lower.

According to the ministry, of about 200 processors nationwide, only 11 in fiscal 2008 and 12 in fiscal 2009 cleared the standards to ship meat to be eaten raw. However, these shipments were for horse meat and horse liver, not beef. The ministry began gathering statistics on meat shipments by type in fiscal 2008.

Beef for raw consumption procured by restaurants through other channels that met the standards during this period was possibly served at some restaurants, but the ministry believes most raw-meat dishes served were made from meat that was supposed to have been cooked.

As there is no punishment for not meeting the standards, restaurants likely knowingly served meat meant to be cooked as yukhoe or sashimi.

"The restaurants are aware of the possible danger of what they're doing, but they can't resist serving those popular dishes," an official of the All Japan Yakiniku Association said. "So, they accept the responsibility of serving them."

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110504004563.htm

The temperature and handling standards are different, meat meant to be cooked was eaten raw. As you can see by the posted article, it may be happening a lot....this restaurant took the risk and lost.

Sure raw meat is not the safest.... but statistically, cooked hamburgers kill more.

Cos.

Agree too many people think that cooking meat gets rid of all the toxins, etc.

In Japan, eggs are acknowledged to be eaten raw, unlike in most other countries. Strict hygiene management by farmers and by others is one reason why death by salmonella poisoning is extremely rare in Japan now. I eat raw eggs all the time. I don't eat raw chicken, though. (安全に食べられる地域は日本など一部に限られている) (Raw eggs can be eaten safely only in Japan and a few others) Wikipedia Japan

The largest outbreak of salmonella poisoning in Japan occured in Hamamatsu city Shizuoka back in 1936 in a junior high school on field day. It was caused by 大福餅のあんこ (daifuku mochi no anko) rice cake with red bean jam (paste). Out of 2,201 patients, 44 died.

If I take that juicy US angus steak out of my fridge and just sear the edges for a rare steak will I get sick from it?

No! Because the meat has reached 60'C thus killing the bacteria.

Sure pull the other one it hatheth bells on.

Sure raw meat is not the safest.... but statistically, cooked hamburgers kill more.

Wow! What a surprise that is, NOT! Considering there are over 35 million McDonalds hamburgers consumed every day throughout the world.

You call Mcd Meat?????

No one is mentioning J-bashers except you.

Agree too many people think that cooking meat gets rid of all the toxins, etc.

E-coli and other meat-borne bacteria is what kills people, and cooking until well-done will kill it all. Bacteria can remain in the middle of a rare or medium rare burger. Chicken should always be well-cooked as well. Pork cooking temperatures (for chops, roasts) were lowered a few years ago because trichinosis in pork has been virtually eradicated.

The one thing you can't kill with heat is Creutzfeldt-Jackob disease as it's a prion.

Himajin.

Read what I posted NOT what you think I posted.

I talked about toxins and similar very different animal to bacteria(many which are no longer killed by lazy cooking).

As for E-Coli killing people .... which strain are you talking about?? There are many and some as has been recently found out are VERY bad news indeed.

What 'toxins'? Do you care to elaborate? This article deals with food poisoning, which is mainly caused by bacteria.....E-coli, salmonella, listeria, etc.

Yes, there are many strains of E-coli, some more toxic than others, is listing them germane to the discussion? There is no doubt that there is more than one strain of E-coli that causes food poisoning.

Read what I posted NOT what you think I posted.

You said that cooking meat does not get rid of toxins, I said that cooking meat will rid it of any food-borne bacteria, but does not get rid of prions. I DID address what you wrote.

Do take a look at my 3:47 post of information on the regs for meat to be eaten raw, which you claimed did not exist. That addressed what you posted as well.

Yeah, I seen the regs(old news) and you also contradicted yourself in that post, hence no need to reply. And why do you bring up an old post and NOT address current ones. Hmm??

Time to cook supper here, no time left to play.

BTW, toxic = toxins. Quit trying to nail people on minor points. BTW, cooking DON'T remove toxins as has been pointed out here by many posters and anyone with high-school chemistry.

Whatever it is, regulations solve no issues without continuous inspections especially at restaurants where the chief would violate the regulation in the first second the inspector takes his eyes off him. They would disregard any regulation to save a few yen.

...required to cook the surface of beef up to one centimeter deep at 60 degrees to kill bacteria before cutting raw meat from inside.

Even if they did it, for the next move they will cut the meat with the bacteria contaminated knife infecting the meat from inside. Never seen any of them using different or disinfected knife. In cheap restaurants they cut the bread, the veggies and the raw meat with the same knife.

Also, cooking and killing bacteria not only wouldn't make the meat safer in case of poor quality contaminated meat, but in some cases, for some meat and food especially bacteria contaminated or half rotten expired meat/food out of improper storage, it is just the cooking or the re-heating that produces toxins.

Agreed there as for the other poster check into toxins generated by bacteria.

I wonder if Bernds Bar in Roppongi will take heed of this when offering their seasonal Steak Tatare?

'Old news'? You claimed none exist....

Again 100% wrong. Japan has NO certification for meat to be eaten raw, etc. Hence no mislabelling happened.

"E-coli and other meat-borne bacteria is what kills people, and cooking until well-done will kill it all."

Cooking it in a laboratory, yes. It's proven that in a kitchen, particularly at home, people can't possibly cook everything to that level of safety... and you recontaminate the cooked food with the little bit you couldn't get or with your cooking instruments. Some practice make the risk of big outbreaks bigger : big batches, grind the food (it disseminates bacteria), preparation in advance, take-out (and bento, doggie bag...). Tropical climate is also a factor. Eating raw comes far in the list, even if that counts. One of the country with the most food borne outbreaks and death per inhabitant is the US where "raw food" is not in the habits. But look, they have all the other factors of risk... Last week, some infected melons made 60 (?) victims in Colorado...and I hear nobody saying to cook the melons.

If that were true, food poisoning outbreaks in the home would outnumber those of restaurants, but that isn't the case. I've never had anyone get sick from something I cooked at home, in 40 years ( started cooking in junior high)

The main factors are causing food poisoning outbreaks in restaurants/school lunches are-

1.Food-borne pathogens 2.Cross-contamination (knives, cutting surfaces etc) 3.Improper cooling/storage techniques (food needs to be cooled to below the bacteria-breeding temp zone as fast as possible, and raw food can't be stored above cooked,but these are common violations) 4.Inadequate hand washing by restaurant employees, inadequate washing of foods.

Salmonella in melons is on the surface, most likely from birds pooping on the melons in the field , or melons being washed in contaminated water. Unlike meat, fruit doesn't naturally harbor E-coli and salmonella, it has to come from an another source. Which leads back to poor hygiene. Cooking melon isn't the answer, but washing fruit properly certainly is.