On the heels of the USDA recall of almost 96000 pounds of beef from Illinois and reproduce or on Friday, it's important to check all hamburger meat before you fire up the grill this Memorial Day weekend. More specifically the US Department of agriculture's Food Inspection and Safety Service is recommending you take the following steps when preparing hamburger meat.
Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Immediately clean spills.
Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.
Consumers should only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160° F.
Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.
The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase or one hour if temperatures exceed 90° F. Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking.
For more information and call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHOTLINE or visit www.fsis.usda.gov
No comments:
Post a Comment