Food poisoning from meat?

alecta337

Hi people,

So I have been slowly becoming a vegetarian, not for ethics, just because my stomach has stopped being able to process fatty red meats. For a while I was getting bad stomach aches for hours after I ate meat, so I started cutting it out of my diet. I just went through my food diary and figured out that the last time I ate red meat was on September 5th.

Since then I have eaten chicken, turkey, and pork. The chicken and turkey give me no stomach problems, but the pork upset my stomach a little.

Anyway, on Sunday, I was making spaghetti for my bf and me (he eats meat, lots of it). I had split the sauce I was making into two pots, and put the already cooked meatballs into his sauce. I tasted the sauce from his pot to be sure I seasoned it well, I did not taste the meat. Anyway, the next day I woke up sick as can be. I don't want to be too graphic, but I was sick sick sick, in a stomach kinda way. I am pretty sure I got food poisoning from eating the sauce that was with the meat. The only other thing I ate that day was pasta with tomato sauce and some chicken(cooked thoroughly) and rice.

Is it possible that I got food poisoning from just tasting the sauce that had meatballs in it? Its only been two months since I ate red meat. Last time I ate red meat I got a pretty bad stomach ache for a few hours after eating, but nothing like how sick I was on Monday. I had to skip school because I was so sick.

I can't think of anything else that could have made me sick. And my bf didn't get sick from eating the meatballs, so they were fine.

Thanks in advance =]

Rain_Howard

Actual food poisoning? Not likely unless the meat wasn't cooked to the proper temperature or something you put in the sauce was contaminated. However in talking with other people over the years who have cut red meat from their diet it may not take long at all for your body to not accept it.

Shweedog

This is just my opinion of course and not medical advice but I cannot imagine you got food poisoning from just tasting the sauce and your bf didn't even though he ate the whole thing. The meat itself would have had to be bad/contaminated and thus would have made him sick too. You could be very very sensitive to the proteins in red meat though. But still I wouldn't think just tasting would cause this. Sorry you feel bad.

sing4me4you

If your BF did not get food poisoning from eating it, it is likely you did not. I did read recently of a person who had Lime disease (from a tick bite) that resulted in her forming an allergy to red meat so it is possible to be allergic to it. Good luck and sorry you got sick.

spottedlee

if your BF ate it and has no problem, more likely that you were not poison,, food poisoning usually come within few hours, not next morining. Hope you feel better soon.

chrissym78

Could it have been a virus? Tis the season ya know I'd give it some time and try it again if it's something you like. I know a lady who is allergic to poultry... very weird! Other meats don't bother her but even chicken broth will put her in the bed/bathroom for a couple days. So I guess red meat could affect you in a similar way... good luck!

lilchino4af

If the sauce was the same and the meat didn't make him sick, I'm inclined to think it was the chicken. Even if it looked like it was cooked thoroughly, was the temperature where it needed to be? Another possibility is cross contamination when prepping food (such as accidently using a utensil on ready to eat foods that touched raw meat/prep area).

That or you could've just been unlucky and picked up a stomach bug that has absolutely nothing to do with the food you ate.

NoAdditives

I highly doubt you got sick from tasting the sauce. Food poisoning happens from bacteria in food. This is why cross-contamination from raw meats to vegetables or from things have have come into contact with raw meat, such as a plate or utensil, coming into contact with cooked meat is such a big deal and why it's so important to make sure that things like chicken and pork are cooked thoroughly.

My husband and I both got food poisoning this summer from Panda Express and it took us about 24 hours before we started experiencing symptoms. Based on that awful experience (we were both sick for days, I had to go to the ER because I'm pregnant and was so dehydrated) I'd say your food poisoning was most likely caused by something you ate earlier in the day. Or, it could be something else that isn't food related.

alecta337

Thank you all for the responses. Yeah, I thought it was weird for me to get food poisoning from just that.

The chicken I ate that day I had also eaten the day before and my bf ate it also, and he didn't get sick. I am thinking it could have been a 24 hour bug or something. But my bf didn't get sick at all, and he was with me for the few days before I got sick.

I mainly thought it was food poisoning because, not to be too gross, but once I got out everything that was in my body, I felt a lot better.

All that really matters is that I feel better now. I am just worried that it was something I ate that made me so sick and I really really want to avoid that again at all costs.

justsummie

My 2 year old daughter got a rare strain of salmonella (that hadn't been documented in the US since 2002) this past spring and we still have no idea how she got it...no one else in our household got sick but that may be because this particular strain tends to only affect people with weaker immune systems. We took her to the ER with a 104 degree fever, they initially told us she had a UTI and sent us home but we were back the next night because we couldn't get her fever to go down and she started having horrible diarrhea. It took about 4 days for her to be 100% again but the Dr. warned that salmonella can go dormant in your system and then resurface again.

ivyjbres

I could be that you have a digestive issue that's causing this. I say that because if you had only the sauce, but not the meat, you probably got primarily the fat from the meat.

I have chronic gastritis, and when it flares up, I'm in blinding pain for hours after I eat, but once its out of my system, I'm fine. You might see if there's a pattern to your symptoms beside just the one night, and if there is, see a doctor.