Ground Beef: Why All This Cooking Concern

Bacteria is everywhere. Any food of animal origin can harbor bacteria, and ground beef fits this bill.

Pathogenic bacteria cause illness and can not be seen or smelled. Other bacteria cause spoilage and are generally not harmful. But it does cause food to develop a bad odor or feel sticky.

When meat is ground, such as ground beef, more of the meat is exposed to the harmful bacteria. This bacteria grows rapidly in temperatures between 40 and 140 °F.

E. coli can colonize in the intestines of animals, which could contaminate muscle meat at slaughter. Once it gets in food, it can multiply very slowly at temperatures as low as 44 °F. It has the potential to produce large quantities of a potent toxin.

E. coli causing illness has been linked to the consumption of undercooked ground beef. It is killed by thorough cooking.

Bacteria can spread from one surface to another. Bacteria in raw meat juices can contaminate foods that have been cooked safely or raw foods that won’t be cooked, such as salad ingredients. Bacteria can also be present on equipment, hands, and even in the air.

To avoid cross-contamination:

  • don’t reuse any packaging materials
  • don’t put cooked hamburgers on the same platter that held the raw patties
  • wash your hands with soap and hot water before and after handling ground beef
  • use soap and hot water to wash utensils and surfaces which have come into contact with the raw meat

To be sure all bacteria are destroyed, cook ground beef to 160 °F. Use a food thermometer to check that they have reached a safe internal temperature.

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