Raclette and fondue in all variations, whether with meat, cheese or vegetables, are popular dishes on New Year’s Eve. The RKI issued a warning for this in 2021.
Berlin – Slide a pan covered with a lot of cheese into the raclette device, pull the skewered bread through the liquid cheese or pull the freshly fried piece of meat out of the fondue pot. If your mouth is already watering here, you are probably a big raclette or fondue fan. Both very popular dishes for New Year’s Eve: quick to prepare, something for everyone and ideal for eating together. In 2021, however, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) advised against poking around in the fondue pot together. The reason: risk of infection.
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RKI: Raw meat and open food as sources of danger
If you immediately think of the corona virus when you think of the RKI and the risk of infection, you are exceptionally wrong. The Berlin scientists’ warning has nothing to do with the pandemic, but with bacteria. In a study referred to by the RKI in November 2021, a direct connection was found between the occurrence of diarrhea and the previous consumption of raclette or fondue. Of the 400 participants in the study who were ill, this happened to 180 people in the seven days after the Christmas holidays – and especially when there was fondue or raclette. Even clearer: if there was chicken meat on the holiday table, the connection cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Raw chicken meat in particular is often contaminated with bacteria that cause diarrhea. The meat is raw on the table, is touched with the fingers or not fully cooked through in all the excitement. In addition, contact with other foods is quite likely, just think of the richly set tables with all kinds of bowls and containers.
RKI study: Hygiene rules should be observed
In order to avoid nasty surprises after the delicious New Year’s Eve meal, the RKI therefore recommends some measures to reduce the risk of infection:
- Regular and thorough hand washing.
- Sufficient through-cooking of the meat (at least 70 degrees internal temperature).
- Compliance with the cold chain, store the food in the refrigerator at two to five degrees.
- Keeping finished meals warm at 65 degrees or quickly cooling them down to seven degrees prevents germs from multiplying.
- Wash kitchen towels and cloths regularly with the appropriate temperature.
If these points are observed, there is really hardly anything standing in the way of a cozy New Year’s Eve raclette or fondue to start the new year 2023.
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