On Food and Cooking

single infected carcass is more likely to
contaminate others. Most bacteria are
harmless and simply spoil the meat by
consuming its nutrients and eventually
generating unpleasant smells and a slimy
surface. A number, however, can invade the
cells of our digestive system, and produce
toxins to destroy the host cells and defenses
and to speed their getaway from the body. The
two most prominent causes of serious meat-
borne illness are Salmonella and E. coli.
Salmonella, a genus that includes more
than 2,000 distinct bacterial types, causes
more serious food-borne disease in Europe
and North America than any other microbe,
and appears to be on the rise. It’s a resilient
group, adaptable to extremes of temperature,
acidity, and moisture, and found in most if not
all animals, including fish. In the United
States it’s especially prevalent in poultry and
eggs, apparently thanks to the practices of
industrial-scale poultry farming: recycling