Expert: Carol Schlitt - 12/19/2006

Question
will I get sick from eating a few bites of NOT fully cooked ham


Answer
Hi Karen,

There is no difinitive answer to this question.  The ham you consumed could be perfectly safe even when eaten completely raw if the bacteria present were of insufficient numbers to make you sick.

Cooking meats like ham lessen the chances for food borne illness as well as improve the keeping quality and flavor of the product.  However, you can become ill from eating fully cooked meat if it is handled improperly -- ie left at room temperature an extended length of time, exposed to bacteria by an infected food worker, etc.

There are no guarantees that cooking meat will make it 100% safe -- only that it increases your odds of making it safer to consume.

I hope this answered your question, Karen.  If you have additional questions, please let me know.

Carol