# Is listeria from candy apples a real threat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-listeria-from-candy-apples-a-real-threat/799336 "2017-10-20T01:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-listeria-from-candy-apples-a-real-threat/799336/1 "2017-10-20T01:17:21Z")
I love candy apples, but I saw on the package it says to refrigerate after buying. I didn’t know why, so looking online I saw that candy apples can develop [Listeria](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301091.php)bacteria growth if left at room temperature because the stick creates a breeding ground. But for examples, I’ve always heard not to eat raw eggs due to Salmonella. But only [1 in 20,000](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/03/salmonella_and_raw_eggs_how_i_ve_eaten_tons_of_cookie_dough_and_never_gotten.html) eggs is infected with salmonella. Supposedly most pigs don’t carry trichina worms, so even if they are undercooked you probably won’t get an infection. Meanwhile the majority of chickens have Campylobacter and lots have salmonella. So yeah, the odds of getting sick from eating raw eggs are low, the odds of getting sick from eating raw chicken is high. But as a society we treat them all the same as foods you must store and prepare a certain way to avoid getting sick. So as far as the candy apple issue, is it a real risk of illness, or is it one of those 1 in 10,000 risks? Refrigerated candy apples are hard as rocks, and I’d rather leave them at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-listeria-from-candy-apples-a-real-threat/799336/2 "2017-10-20T01:50:13Z")
I don’t know, and I don’t like candy apples, so I’m not going to research it. But I thought I’d comment on some of your other points: I like undercooked eggs, and routinely eat them. Every other first world country has kept it’s egg supply clean, and I’m not sure why the US hasn’t, but I’m glad to see it’s not just that I’ve gotten lucky, and that raw eggs aren’t all that dangerous. Trichinosis used to be a much more common problem than it is today. We HAVE cleaned up the pork supply. Animals get trichinosis from eating the meat of an infected animal. Meat (including table scraps) fed to hogs must be cooked in the US, or the meat can’t legally be sold. This means that commercially available pork in the US is extremely unlikely to carry trichinosis. [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6401a1.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6401a1.htm) Interestingly, there’s a small uptick in pork-borne trichinosis that might be linked to organic farming. > [@](#): > > The number of swine reared in organic livestock operations certified by the U.S. Department of Agricultur increased from 482 in 1997 to 12,373 in 201. Swine reared by these methods are likely exposed to sylvatic (i.e., occurring in or affecting wild animals) and synanthropic (i.e., ecologically associated with humans) hosts of Trichinella and are therefore more likely to be infected with Trichinella than commercial pork raised in confinement buildings under biosecure conditions And yeah, raw chicken is more dangerous. You can usually _feel_ the bacteria colonies on the surface of raw chicken. Anyway, good luck with the candy apples.