SINGAPORE - An American man who chronicles his raw chicken diet experiment on Instagram has gained hundreds of thousands of followers, but medical experts and the health authorities warn that his experiment could result in serious illness or even death.

The 35-year-old content creator from Florida, who wants to be known only as John, has been eating raw pieces of chicken and washing them down with a glass of raw eggs for 18 consecutive days since Jan 20.

“To prepare (the chicken), I just take it from the package. I don’t wash it,” he told The Straits Times in an interview on Feb 5.

John’s experiment has drawn more than 340,000 followers and millions of views on Instagram, with each reel getting thousands of mainly disparaging comments.

“What kills him first? The chicken or the egg?” Instagram user Matt Hoffmann said.

Another user JJ Balvanz said: “One day he’s not going to post and we’re all going to know what happened.”

John told ST he was well aware of the negative responses from netizens.

He also knew the risks of his experiment after being told off by many doctors. “They tend to say: You are stupid, you are going to die,” he said.

But still, he wanted to go ahead with the experiment, since “nothing bad ever happened” to him after he had raw chicken about 10 times in the last few years.

He added that he plans to stay on this diet until he “gets a tummy ache”.

The US Food and Drug Administration has said that those infected with foodborne bacteria from raw food consumption may not fall ill immediately, as symptoms can surface up to six weeks later.

John’s experiment is a cause for concern since his Instagram account is widely followed, general practitioner Mohamed Baisal from Shifa Clinic in Singapore warned.

“Bacteria found in raw chicken, like salmonella, campylobacter and clostridium perfringens, can cause severe infections that may result in organ damage, including the kidneys and liver, and in some cases, even death,” said Dr Baisal.

​The Singapore Food Agency also warned that consuming raw meat could lead to serious health issues.

It advises the public to follow food safety guidelines, which include cooking chicken thoroughly to eliminate harmful bacteria.

Dr Baisal added: “Our bodies and minds are not worth the possible serious consequences of such hazardous experiments.

“Trying to prove science wrong, in the name of science, is not a scientific pursuit.”