Microwaves are great for reheating, not so great for cooking
An outbreak of salmonella in raw, frozen, breaded stuffed chicken has sickened 32 people in 12 states. As the number of frozen, meal solutions increase – chicken kiev, cordon blue, strips, nuggets and others – a Kansas State professor is warning consumers to be careful with that entrée.
.jpg)
“Some of these frozen meals are fully cooked and just need to be reheated, and some are raw,” says Dr. Doug Powell, associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University. “It doesn’t seem fair, but consumers really have to read the labels. Raw product should always be cooked in an oven, not a microwave, and needs to be checked with a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer to make sure the food has reached a safe temperature of 165F.”
Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health notes that this is the sixth outbreak of salmonellosis in Minnesota linked to these types of products since 1998. The findings prompted the officials to urge consumers to make sure that all raw poultry products are handled carefully and cooked thoroughly, and to avoid cooking raw chicken products in the microwave because of the risk of undercooking.
A table of the relevant outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=3&c=32&sc=419&id=1245
and below.
Stick it in: Use a thermometer to cook foods so your friends don't barf at football
U.S. college football kicks off Saturday. Time to put on your favorite school’s colors and brush up on that fight song. Thousands of students and alumni will be heading out to the stadium, tailgating, and firing up those grills. Hamburgers, chicken, ribs, or beans, there will be plenty of food on hand.
Use a food thermometer to make sure you aren’t serving your friends and family undercooked meats. Make sure to cook ground beef to 160°F(1), while chicken needs to reach 165°F(2). That way when your team takes the field, you aren’t puking or stuck on the toilet. And using a thermometer will make you a better cook. People are impressed by this. Good food safety will allow you to fully enjoy the tailgating atmosphere, so you can cheer your school onto victory.
It’s all on video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmyMmjfFo5Y
References
1: Ryan, Suzanne M., Mark Seyfert, Melvin C. Hunt, Richard A. Mancini. Influence of Cooking Rate, Endpoint Temperature, Post-cook Hold Time, and Myoglobin Redox State on Internal Color Development of Cooked Ground Beef Patties. Journal of Food Science. Volume 71 Issue 3 Page C216-C221, April 2006
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.tb15620.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
2: Focus On: Chicken. Food Safety and Inspection Service. United States Department of Agriculture. April 4, 2006. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/chicken_food_safety_focus/index.asp
French food porn - burger chic
The New York Times reports that,
.jpg)
As French chefs have embraced the quintessentially American food, they have also made it their own, incorporating Gallic flourishes like cornichons, fleur de sel and fresh thyme. These attempts to translate the burger, or maybe even improve it, strongly suggest that it is here to stay.
The story has a lot of food porn about $50 burgers and nothing about food safety. Or thermometers.
Frédérick Grasser-Hermé, consulting chef at the Champs-Élysées boîte Black Calvados, said,
“A hamburger is the architecture of taste par excellence. The meat needs to be a mix of fatty and lean. Not raw, not rare. It must be medium rare. At the same time the bread needs to be smooth, tepid, toasted on the sesame side. I like to brush the soft side with butter. There needs to be a crispy chiffonade of iceberg lettuce. Everything plays a role.”
Rare, medium-rare, these terms are too subjective. Use a thermometer, and stick it in.
(2)(1).jpg)
As French chefs have embraced the quintessentially American food, they have also made it their own, incorporating Gallic flourishes like cornichons, fleur de sel and fresh thyme. These attempts to translate the burger, or maybe even improve it, strongly suggest that it is here to stay.The story has a lot of food porn about $50 burgers and nothing about food safety. Or thermometers.
Frédérick Grasser-Hermé, consulting chef at the Champs-Élysées boîte Black Calvados, said,
“A hamburger is the architecture of taste par excellence. The meat needs to be a mix of fatty and lean. Not raw, not rare. It must be medium rare. At the same time the bread needs to be smooth, tepid, toasted on the sesame side. I like to brush the soft side with butter. There needs to be a crispy chiffonade of iceberg lettuce. Everything plays a role.”
Rare, medium-rare, these terms are too subjective. Use a thermometer, and stick it in.
Coffee, Conagra and consumers - talking in bed
Amy’s convinced the coffee in our Wellington, NZ, hotel room has no caffeine, so I made an early morning run yesterday to the Starbucks around the corner.
The coffee place was just opening and as I awaited my order, a load of prepared sandwiches arrived. The first thing the staff member did was insert a tip-sensitive digital thermometer into one of the sandwiches to verify that the proper temperature had been maintained. Good on ya. The guy getting my order said it was standard operating procedure, and as we chatted it emerged he was newly arrived in Wellington from Montreal. Another Canadian buddy. Or friend.
Next was a talk with ConAgra’s Food Safety Council in Omaha, Nebraska. That’s ConAgra of pot pie and peanut butter fame.
Quality experts at ConAgra Foods today will hear from a lawyer who has sued the company due to food borne illnesses and from two food safety advocates as the company stresses the need to keep its products safe.
"It's part of raising the game and listening to every expert on the food safety front," said Teresa Paulsen, ConAgra spokeswoman.
ConAgra decided to bring in Bill Marler, Barb Kowalcyk, director of food safety and co-founder of the Center for FoodBorne Illness Research and Prevention, and myself to hear what we had to say.
Marler told the Omaha World-Herald he was going to talk about fostering a culture that focuses on food safety while remaining profitable in a competitive industry, and credited ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin and other company executives for inviting him to speak.
"It says a lot for the company.”
Being in Wellington, NZ, and 17 hours ahead, provided several technological hurdles, which we sorta managed to get around. Video didn’t work, so the folks in Nebraska saw my slides and heard my disembodied voice – apparently in surround sound.
I was talking into a telephone (left, exactly as shown), advancing my slides, but had no audience feedback. While awkward, I could get used to this lecturing style.
By the time I spoke with the consumer advisory group for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority later that afternoon, I had the message much more focused: here’s the top-5 factors that contribute to foodborne illness, here’s the research we do to reduce the burden of each, and here’s how we use different mediums and messages to foster a food safety culture, from farm-to-fork.
It’s been good to reflect on why we do the things we do, and it’s been great traveling in Wellington with Amy. Now it’s time for a couple of days of hanging out, catching up on news if I ever get my e-mail working again, and then its off to Melbourne on Sunday.
.jpg)
The coffee place was just opening and as I awaited my order, a load of prepared sandwiches arrived. The first thing the staff member did was insert a tip-sensitive digital thermometer into one of the sandwiches to verify that the proper temperature had been maintained. Good on ya. The guy getting my order said it was standard operating procedure, and as we chatted it emerged he was newly arrived in Wellington from Montreal. Another Canadian buddy. Or friend.Next was a talk with ConAgra’s Food Safety Council in Omaha, Nebraska. That’s ConAgra of pot pie and peanut butter fame.
Quality experts at ConAgra Foods today will hear from a lawyer who has sued the company due to food borne illnesses and from two food safety advocates as the company stresses the need to keep its products safe.
"It's part of raising the game and listening to every expert on the food safety front," said Teresa Paulsen, ConAgra spokeswoman.
ConAgra decided to bring in Bill Marler, Barb Kowalcyk, director of food safety and co-founder of the Center for FoodBorne Illness Research and Prevention, and myself to hear what we had to say.
Marler told the Omaha World-Herald he was going to talk about fostering a culture that focuses on food safety while remaining profitable in a competitive industry, and credited ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin and other company executives for inviting him to speak.
"It says a lot for the company.”
Being in Wellington, NZ, and 17 hours ahead, provided several technological hurdles, which we sorta managed to get around. Video didn’t work, so the folks in Nebraska saw my slides and heard my disembodied voice – apparently in surround sound. I was talking into a telephone (left, exactly as shown), advancing my slides, but had no audience feedback. While awkward, I could get used to this lecturing style.
By the time I spoke with the consumer advisory group for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority later that afternoon, I had the message much more focused: here’s the top-5 factors that contribute to foodborne illness, here’s the research we do to reduce the burden of each, and here’s how we use different mediums and messages to foster a food safety culture, from farm-to-fork.
It’s been good to reflect on why we do the things we do, and it’s been great traveling in Wellington with Amy. Now it’s time for a couple of days of hanging out, catching up on news if I ever get my e-mail working again, and then its off to Melbourne on Sunday.
How to cook hamburger - more from France
A correspondent in France has provided a July 2, 2008, document published by the French Ministry of Agriculture regarding meat food safety.
.jpg)
From cooking ”a hamburger to the center” (page 21) to “well-cooked” (page 12), the document is short on specifics, and absolutely wrong when speaking to an audience I particularly care about these days – pregnant women.
“For sensitive consumers (pregnant women, children, the elderly…) eat any meat (beef, poultry, pork) “well done” (that is to say at 65°C = disappearance of pink color), and avoid the consumption of raw meat, of some cold cuts (charcuterie) or tripe product.” (p. 15)
The temperature – 65 C or 149 F – is too low for any ground meat or poultry, and simply does not equal the disappearance of pink.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness. So is well-cooked, cooked to the center, and, as the Brits prefer, piping hot. Use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. And stick it in.
(2).jpg)
From cooking ”a hamburger to the center” (page 21) to “well-cooked” (page 12), the document is short on specifics, and absolutely wrong when speaking to an audience I particularly care about these days – pregnant women.“For sensitive consumers (pregnant women, children, the elderly…) eat any meat (beef, poultry, pork) “well done” (that is to say at 65°C = disappearance of pink color), and avoid the consumption of raw meat, of some cold cuts (charcuterie) or tripe product.” (p. 15)
The temperature – 65 C or 149 F – is too low for any ground meat or poultry, and simply does not equal the disappearance of pink.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness. So is well-cooked, cooked to the center, and, as the Brits prefer, piping hot. Use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. And stick it in.
I try not to be a food safety jerk
After telling Misti Crane of The Columbus Dispatch that I feel naked without a thermometer – when cooking – she came back for more, and asked if I would ever take a thermometer to, say, a Fourth of July BBQ at someone else’s place.
Here's what Doug Powell does: He whips out the thermometer he's recently taken to carrying with him.
You might wonder how the food-safety expert finesses such a potentially awkward social situation.
"I go into it very academic, professor-ish like," he said.
"I try not to be a jerk."
… But nobody will eat a burger off his grill that hasn't been stabbed in the side with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer and is cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees.
I’ve taken thermometers while tailgating at Kansas State football games, I’ve stuck them in potpies, and I’ve converted at least one French professor into using a thermometer. I know it’s awkward to ask questions, or listen politely while someone gases on about how safe their food is cause it comes from some dude with a RR address, but really, I try not to be a jerk.
Below are two videos, one tailgating, and one on how to cook hamburgers.
Now, can someone explain the American fascination with fireworks and the desire for students – especially males – to ignite the noisemakers every night, beginning July 1. What are they compensating for?
Here's what Doug Powell does: He whips out the thermometer he's recently taken to carrying with him.You might wonder how the food-safety expert finesses such a potentially awkward social situation.
"I go into it very academic, professor-ish like," he said.
"I try not to be a jerk."
… But nobody will eat a burger off his grill that hasn't been stabbed in the side with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer and is cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees.
I’ve taken thermometers while tailgating at Kansas State football games, I’ve stuck them in potpies, and I’ve converted at least one French professor into using a thermometer. I know it’s awkward to ask questions, or listen politely while someone gases on about how safe their food is cause it comes from some dude with a RR address, but really, I try not to be a jerk.
Below are two videos, one tailgating, and one on how to cook hamburgers.
Now, can someone explain the American fascination with fireworks and the desire for students – especially males – to ignite the noisemakers every night, beginning July 1. What are they compensating for?
Color is crap -- no matter what the French government says
A FSnet reader sent along a Feb. 2007 inter-ministerial memo for food service professionals from France's General Director of Health, Didier Houssin and the General Director of Food, Jean Marc Bournigal.
Amy translated parts of the document, which stated,
“I would especially like to point out the simple method of control described in the memo that consists of visually verifying that the meat is no longer pink in the center to assure that the temperature range is respected.”
Amy's best translation of another part of the document is:
Cooking the ground beef patties through to the center eliminates the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. This method of cooking can be considered as a kill-step according to the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA). This corresponds to an internal temperature of 65 C. While elaborating control procedures for the cooking temperature of ground beef patties, a simple method for assuring that the temperature range is sufficiently respected is to visually verify that the meat is no longer pink in the center. This can provide a sure and practical control procedure for personnel preparing the meals in institutions that do not have means to continually measure the internal temperature of finished products.
It is important to make the food service staff aware of these measures that allow the prevention of the risks of E. coli O157:H7. These measures are not incompatible with the good quality of the dishes served.
If eating habits cause certain French consumers to prefer ground beef patties that are pink in the center, recent organoleptic studies seem to indicate that the taste for rare meat develops with age and that young children appreciate well-done meat. The same has been found by a recent ad hoc study recently directed by a committee from the AFSSA.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness in all kinds of meat, especially hamburger. The references are all here, along with a video.
Stick it in. Use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer.
.jpg)
Amy translated parts of the document, which stated,“I would especially like to point out the simple method of control described in the memo that consists of visually verifying that the meat is no longer pink in the center to assure that the temperature range is respected.”
Amy's best translation of another part of the document is:
Cooking the ground beef patties through to the center eliminates the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. This method of cooking can be considered as a kill-step according to the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA). This corresponds to an internal temperature of 65 C. While elaborating control procedures for the cooking temperature of ground beef patties, a simple method for assuring that the temperature range is sufficiently respected is to visually verify that the meat is no longer pink in the center. This can provide a sure and practical control procedure for personnel preparing the meals in institutions that do not have means to continually measure the internal temperature of finished products.
It is important to make the food service staff aware of these measures that allow the prevention of the risks of E. coli O157:H7. These measures are not incompatible with the good quality of the dishes served.
If eating habits cause certain French consumers to prefer ground beef patties that are pink in the center, recent organoleptic studies seem to indicate that the taste for rare meat develops with age and that young children appreciate well-done meat. The same has been found by a recent ad hoc study recently directed by a committee from the AFSSA.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness in all kinds of meat, especially hamburger. The references are all here, along with a video.
Stick it in. Use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer.
Top Chef tailgating
Ryan learned on Top Chef last night that California-style tailgating doesn't play too well in the heartland -- or at least, Chicago..jpg)
Accurately measuring whether food is safe or not is also not high on the Top Chef to-do list. Sure, the Australian dude (or New Zealand, the show refers to him interchangeably, which will equally please the Aussies and Kiwis) was chastised for being unsanitary -- cross contamination and double dipping -- but use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer to ensure safety and quality. Sick it in.Check out our youtube video of tailgaters at Kansas State's last home game - against Missouri -- back in Nov. 2007.
How to properly cook hamburgers
The best way to make a hamburger is debatable. In my opinion adding Swiss cheese, pickles, onions, and mustard to a burger nearly perfects it. The one other ingredient? Temperature.
Cooking burgers to 160°F is the only sure way to tell that it is fully cooked. Cooking hamburgers to 160°F kills unwanted microorganisms such as E. coli O157:H7, a deadly ingredient. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 61 deaths a year from E. coli, and thousands more ill. Ground beef was recalled 19 different times in 2007 for E. coli contamination.
E. coli O157:H7 loves hiding in the intestines of animals, such as cows. During slaughter, if workers do not follow safe practices it can get onto the cuts of meat. Steaks can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness because any potential for microorganisms exists only on the surface. However, with ground beef the muscle is mixed up and the organisms are spread throughout the meat.
When cooking, don’t rely on the burger’s appearance to tell if it is done. Many people think a burger that is no longer pink is a done burger. This is not the case as pointed out in many studies (here, here, and here). Sometimes burgers look done well before they hit 160°F.
To measure the temperature of a burger, go out and buy a tip sensitive digital thermometer. Remove the burger from the grill or stove and insert the thermometer into the side of the meat all the way to the center. Wait until the thermometer reads 160°F before serving. Add the toppings of your choice, and enjoy!
Podcast 1
Podcast 2
References
Hunt, M.C., O. Sørheim, E. Slinde. Color and Heat Denaturation of Myoglobin Forms in Ground Beef. Journal of Food Science Volume 64 Issue 5 Page 847-851, September 1999.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1999.tb15925.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Ryan, Suzanne M., Mark Seyfert, Melvin C. Hunt, Richard A. Mancini. Influence of Cooking Rate, Endpoint Temperature, Post-cook Hold Time, and Myoglobin Redox State on Internal Color Development of Cooked Ground Beef Patties. Journal of Food Science. Volume 71 Issue 3 Page C216-C221, April 2006
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.tb15620.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Seyfert, M., R.A. Mancini, M.C. Hunt. Internal Premature Browning in Cooked Ground Beef Patties from High-Oxygen Modified-Atmosphere Packaging. Journal of Food Science. Volume 69 Issue 9 Page C721-C725, December 2004
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb09923.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Cooking burgers to 160°F is the only sure way to tell that it is fully cooked. Cooking hamburgers to 160°F kills unwanted microorganisms such as E. coli O157:H7, a deadly ingredient. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 61 deaths a year from E. coli, and thousands more ill. Ground beef was recalled 19 different times in 2007 for E. coli contamination.
E. coli O157:H7 loves hiding in the intestines of animals, such as cows. During slaughter, if workers do not follow safe practices it can get onto the cuts of meat. Steaks can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness because any potential for microorganisms exists only on the surface. However, with ground beef the muscle is mixed up and the organisms are spread throughout the meat.
When cooking, don’t rely on the burger’s appearance to tell if it is done. Many people think a burger that is no longer pink is a done burger. This is not the case as pointed out in many studies (here, here, and here). Sometimes burgers look done well before they hit 160°F.
To measure the temperature of a burger, go out and buy a tip sensitive digital thermometer. Remove the burger from the grill or stove and insert the thermometer into the side of the meat all the way to the center. Wait until the thermometer reads 160°F before serving. Add the toppings of your choice, and enjoy!
Podcast 1
Podcast 2
References
Hunt, M.C., O. Sørheim, E. Slinde. Color and Heat Denaturation of Myoglobin Forms in Ground Beef. Journal of Food Science Volume 64 Issue 5 Page 847-851, September 1999.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1999.tb15925.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Ryan, Suzanne M., Mark Seyfert, Melvin C. Hunt, Richard A. Mancini. Influence of Cooking Rate, Endpoint Temperature, Post-cook Hold Time, and Myoglobin Redox State on Internal Color Development of Cooked Ground Beef Patties. Journal of Food Science. Volume 71 Issue 3 Page C216-C221, April 2006
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.tb15620.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Seyfert, M., R.A. Mancini, M.C. Hunt. Internal Premature Browning in Cooked Ground Beef Patties from High-Oxygen Modified-Atmosphere Packaging. Journal of Food Science. Volume 69 Issue 9 Page C721-C725, December 2004
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb09923.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29
Mallie's big burger -- did they use a thermometer?
A Detroit-area restaurant owner said he believes he has broken the world record for ''largest hamburger commercially available.''
After 12 hours of preparation and baking, the 134-pound burger emerged Saturday at Mallie's Sports Bar and Grill.
The ''Absolutely Ridiculous Burger,'' made with beef, bacon and cheese, was delivered on a 50-pound bun, sells for $350, and orders require 24 hours' notice. Flipping the burger required three men using two steel sheets.
That's all nice, but did they use a thermometer to acquire data for doneness? Regardless of the size, stick it in.
.jpg)
After 12 hours of preparation and baking, the 134-pound burger emerged Saturday at Mallie's Sports Bar and Grill.The ''Absolutely Ridiculous Burger,'' made with beef, bacon and cheese, was delivered on a 50-pound bun, sells for $350, and orders require 24 hours' notice. Flipping the burger required three men using two steel sheets.
That's all nice, but did they use a thermometer to acquire data for doneness? Regardless of the size, stick it in.
Use a meat thermometer
Marc Bouchard of Hudson, the executive chef at Stellina Restaurant in Watertown, Mass., writes in The Nashua Telegraph that people may hesitate at handling raw chicken and tend to overcook it.
Bouchard blames it on the media, "with its glorified tales of salmonella we've been scared into thinking that illness, disease and toxins lurk in every package."
.jpeg)
There's nothing glorious about salmonella.
Bouchard says always keep a box of disposable latex or plastic gloves in the kitchen. Put them on whenever you handle any raw meats or fish. And immediately sterilize your cutting board and knife with a commercial disinfectant or a solution of diluted chlorine bleach before going on to any other task.
OK.
Bouchard also says the answer to the problem of overcooking is to use the sear-and-bake method of cooking.
"In 15 minutes, we had perfectly cooked chicken, with the meat cooked through but still tender and juicy. The same cooking technique could be applied to cuts of pork, beef, turkey or even fish."
Wrong. The only way to tell if meat like chicken is properly cooked is to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. And it will make you a better executive chef cause you won't overcook meat.
Stick it in.
.jpg)
Bouchard blames it on the media, "with its glorified tales of salmonella we've been scared into thinking that illness, disease and toxins lurk in every package."
There's nothing glorious about salmonella.Bouchard says always keep a box of disposable latex or plastic gloves in the kitchen. Put them on whenever you handle any raw meats or fish. And immediately sterilize your cutting board and knife with a commercial disinfectant or a solution of diluted chlorine bleach before going on to any other task.
OK.
Bouchard also says the answer to the problem of overcooking is to use the sear-and-bake method of cooking.
"In 15 minutes, we had perfectly cooked chicken, with the meat cooked through but still tender and juicy. The same cooking technique could be applied to cuts of pork, beef, turkey or even fish."
Wrong. The only way to tell if meat like chicken is properly cooked is to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. And it will make you a better executive chef cause you won't overcook meat.
Stick it in.
What temperature would you like your lamb chops?
This is a first; instead of me asking at a restaurant what medium-rare means -- temperature-wise -- the waitress tonight asked Amy after she ordered lamb chops, "What temperature would you like those at?".jpeg)
I immediately jumped in, blowing my food safety cover, and asked, "You actually have thermometers back in the kitchen?"
She said, "Yes."
I've been a food safety geek for coming up on 15 years. No one has ever asked me what temperature I wanted my food.
I couldn't believe it.
The occasion was Angelique's birthday, so Amy and I, along with Bob, decided to take our friend to the newest Manhattan (Kansas) eatery, della Voce.
When ordering, the waitress told us the meat on the menu was hormone and antibiotic free. Uh-oh, I thought, another over-priced food porn joint. Not interested.
But, the food was good and the atmosphere was great for a leisurely 2.5 hour meal. Stick it in.
.jpg)
I immediately jumped in, blowing my food safety cover, and asked, "You actually have thermometers back in the kitchen?"
She said, "Yes."
I've been a food safety geek for coming up on 15 years. No one has ever asked me what temperature I wanted my food.
I couldn't believe it.
The occasion was Angelique's birthday, so Amy and I, along with Bob, decided to take our friend to the newest Manhattan (Kansas) eatery, della Voce.
When ordering, the waitress told us the meat on the menu was hormone and antibiotic free. Uh-oh, I thought, another over-priced food porn joint. Not interested.
But, the food was good and the atmosphere was great for a leisurely 2.5 hour meal. Stick it in.
How to check if a turkey is cooked: "piping hot" is not sufficient
The Brits apparently don't like data when it comes to cooking hamburgers, and now, turkey.
Same with the Irish.
For the home cook, the data is the tip-sensitive digital thermometer, and a recording of 160F for hamburgers, 165F for poultry.
For the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency, it's, "check it's piping hot all the way through."
I have no idea what that means.
When I hear piping hot, I think of Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins.
Seriously, the best the taxpayer-funded FSA can come up with is:
So make sure your turkey is cooked properly:
* check it's piping hot all the way through
* cut into the thickest part to check that none of the meat is pink
* if juices run out, they should be clear.
Wow.
One of the great things about the barfblog software provided by food safety dude Bill Marler is that we can see what people are searching for. Since Thanksgiving, people are repeatedly searching for, "Where to place a thermometer in a turkey."
So, not only are they using a thermometer, they want to know how to do it properly.
Don't ask the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency.
Or Ireland's safefood, which yesterday said it's safe to cook stuffing inside the turkey and,
"remember, always make sure your cooked turkey is piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat, and all the juices run clear."
But here are some tips. And some pics from our Thanksgiving turkey.
Food safety guru Pete Snyder says,
If you have stuffed the turkey, you must cook the stuffed bird until the stuffing is above 150F. This assures a 10,000,000-to-1 kill of Salmonella. At this point, the breast will probably be 165F, which is very safe, and the thigh will be about 185F, which is necessary to make this muscle tissue soft.
Sara Moulton on ABC's Good Morning America says:
The thermometer goes into the thickest part of the thigh and should not touch the bone.
The U.S. National Turkey Federation says to insert the thermometer 2 1/2 inches in the deepest portion of the turkey breast or into the inner thigh near the breast. Make sure the thermometer does not touch a bone. When inserting the thermometer in the turkey breast, insert it from the side. The thermometer is easier to read and more accurate than when inserted from the top.
And the U.S. Department of Agriculture says for whole turkeys, place the thermometer in the thickest part of the inner thigh. Once the thigh has reached 165 °F, check the wing and the thickest part of the breast to ensure the turkey has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product.
The Brits are right to say that people shouldn’t wash their turkeys before cooking them -- a cross contamination nightmare -- but why they refuse to advocate tip-sensitive digital thermometers is baffling. And risky.
And these are happy people not barfing because I used a tip-sensitive digital meat thermometer, and didn't rely on "piping hot."
Same with the Irish.
For the home cook, the data is the tip-sensitive digital thermometer, and a recording of 160F for hamburgers, 165F for poultry.
For the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency, it's, "check it's piping hot all the way through."
I have no idea what that means.When I hear piping hot, I think of Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins.
Seriously, the best the taxpayer-funded FSA can come up with is:
So make sure your turkey is cooked properly:
* check it's piping hot all the way through
* cut into the thickest part to check that none of the meat is pink
* if juices run out, they should be clear.
Wow.
One of the great things about the barfblog software provided by food safety dude Bill Marler is that we can see what people are searching for. Since Thanksgiving, people are repeatedly searching for, "Where to place a thermometer in a turkey."
So, not only are they using a thermometer, they want to know how to do it properly.
Don't ask the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency.
Or Ireland's safefood, which yesterday said it's safe to cook stuffing inside the turkey and,
"remember, always make sure your cooked turkey is piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat, and all the juices run clear."
But here are some tips. And some pics from our Thanksgiving turkey.
Food safety guru Pete Snyder says, If you have stuffed the turkey, you must cook the stuffed bird until the stuffing is above 150F. This assures a 10,000,000-to-1 kill of Salmonella. At this point, the breast will probably be 165F, which is very safe, and the thigh will be about 185F, which is necessary to make this muscle tissue soft.
Sara Moulton on ABC's Good Morning America says:
The thermometer goes into the thickest part of the thigh and should not touch the bone.
The U.S. National Turkey Federation says to insert the thermometer 2 1/2 inches in the deepest portion of the turkey breast or into the inner thigh near the breast. Make sure the thermometer does not touch a bone. When inserting the thermometer in the turkey breast, insert it from the side. The thermometer is easier to read and more accurate than when inserted from the top.
And the U.S. Department of Agriculture says for whole turkeys, place the thermometer in the thickest part of the inner thigh. Once the thigh has reached 165 °F, check the wing and the thickest part of the breast to ensure the turkey has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product.The Brits are right to say that people shouldn’t wash their turkeys before cooking them -- a cross contamination nightmare -- but why they refuse to advocate tip-sensitive digital thermometers is baffling. And risky.
And these are happy people not barfing because I used a tip-sensitive digital meat thermometer, and didn't rely on "piping hot."
Science fair: Using photos to check when a burger is done
In a more systematic approach to a visually-safe burger, three teenagers in Pennsylvania have taken an Annie Leibowitz-like approach to fast food cooking by comparing safe temperatures and photographs. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that:
Above a stove, the girls mounted a camera that took a picture every 30 seconds. They measured how much each burger shrank during cooking, and recorded the size when it reached the proper temperature. Aided by computer software designed to measure geometric shapes, they calculated the percentage of shrinkage for various brands of frozen patties. And then they tested the finding by injecting raw burgers with E. coli.
The principal investigator, Naomi Collipp, suggested that "It pretty much worked every time."
Interesting idea, but seems like it's drastically more complicated than having thermometers everywhere. I do like the thinking-outside-of-the-box nature of the project though -- thermometers might not get used in every kitchen and maybe a grill-mounted camera snapping pictures burgers leads to safer food. Would be interesting to see how fat content impacts their findings.
Above a stove, the girls mounted a camera that took a picture every 30 seconds. They measured how much each burger shrank during cooking, and recorded the size when it reached the proper temperature. Aided by computer software designed to measure geometric shapes, they calculated the percentage of shrinkage for various brands of frozen patties. And then they tested the finding by injecting raw burgers with E. coli.
The principal investigator, Naomi Collipp, suggested that "It pretty much worked every time."
Interesting idea, but seems like it's drastically more complicated than having thermometers everywhere. I do like the thinking-outside-of-the-box nature of the project though -- thermometers might not get used in every kitchen and maybe a grill-mounted camera snapping pictures burgers leads to safer food. Would be interesting to see how fat content impacts their findings.
Food science cafe
We had our first, monthly, Food Science Café, last night, and while numbers were small, I still believe that, if you build it, they will come.As long as it's useful.
Adrianna Deweese of the Kansas State Collegian wrote that Douglas Powell, scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at K-State, said the purpose of the monthly discussions is to talk about food safety and science in a different setting than a classroom.
Powell showed his meat thermometer to those in attendance, and said it is important to get a digital, instant-read, tip-sensitive meat thermometer, which costs about $12.
.jpg)
"Lots of people use it for whole birds or roasts, but I think it's more important actually for the burgers and the ground beef," Powell said. "Ten years ago I would have never used one, but now I feel naked when I don't - I feel vulnerable."When he is asked at a restaurant how he would like his hamburger cooked, Powell said he responds he would like it "160," meaning he would like it cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Food color often is a poor indicator of when it is properly cooked, Powell said. K-State food-safety research has found about 25 percent of tested hamburgers turned brown before they reached a safe temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
"We're always just trying to find one way to put information out and take information in," he said. "We're just always trying to find new ways to get it out there so we have fewer sick people."
The network also has several blogs at www.donteatpoop.k-state.edu and
barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu. Powell also wore a T-shirt Monday night that said "ne mangez pas de caca," which is French for "Don't eat poop."
"It's had more effect than anything else," Powell said of the message.
Angela Dodd, senior in food science, was quoted as saying Food Science Café discussions are
"a great way for students to become aware of what's going on in the media about food safety. Food pertains to everybody, and it's a part of everybody's life."
I didn't really like the long table set-up. Next month, we're probably going to do it in the on-campus bowling alley. Only place to get a beer at K-State.
Cooking a frozen pot pie in a microwave
This is a ConAgra Banquet turkey pot pie Amy and I purchased the evening of Oct. 9, 2007 and kept in the freezer. It had the P-9 code on the side -- the ones implicated in the Salmonella outbreak -- and on sale, 2-for-$1.This is me in our kitchen on Monday Oct. 8, preparing Thanksgiving (Canadian) chicken for guests. Note the white microwave in the back left corner.
This is our GE Turntable microwave oven cooking the turkey pot pie at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2007. I have no idea what the wattage is.
The front of the pot pie package includes statements such as:
Ready in 4 minutes; microwavable
And
KEEP FROZEN
COOK THOROUGHLY
The microwave cooking instructions on the back state:
For food safety and quality, follow these cooking directions:
Microwave Oven
(fine print: Ovens vary; cooking time may need to be adjusted.)
1. Place tray on microwave-safe plate; slit top crust.
I could not slit the top crust. It was frozen solid.
2. Microwave on High.
(Med. OR High Wattage Microwave 4 mins.
Low Wattage Microwave 6 mins).
This is the turkey pot pie after 4 minutes on high in the microwave. I was able to slit the crust. The temperature stabilized around 48 F. I must have a low wattage microwave.
The is the turkey pot pie after 6 minutes on high in the microwave. Near the surface, the temperature registers at 204 F (left). However, the temperature lowered as I moved the probe to the center. Temperature approximately 127 F (right).
The microwave cooking instructions also state:
3. Let Stand 3 minutes. Carefully remove as Product will be hot.
After 3 standing for 3 minutes the interior of the pot pie reaches 148 F. The recommended safe end-point temperature for poultry is 165 F.
This is the pot pie after 6 minutes in the microwave on high, standing for 3 minutes, followed by an additional 2 minutes in the microwave on high; 194 F.
I eat the pot pie.This is completely anecdotal and in no way representative. However, as my research colleague Randy Phebus just posted on barfblog.com:
"Why any food product containing raw ingredients of any kind (actually, in this case the chicken cubes were fully cooked, but the veggies and dough were not) would have microwaving as a primary preparation procedure, particularly when starting from a completely frozen state. Microwave heating of this type of product would no doubt be variable, and particularly when you look at all the different types of microwave ovens out there. Perhaps the message that we should be spreading is that microwaves should only be used to heat pre-cooked products. Then, we also need to address the almost universal ambiguity in prep instructions on food packages. What do consumers really understand, or better what do they not understand, about these written label instructions? One other important bit...are the label instructions always properly validated for their food safety effectiveness in the first place?"
It's undercooked... or is it?
Almost two weeks ago Top Chef’s cheftestant Sara M. was sent home after two consecutive undercooked dishes. Admittedly, her halibut in the Quickfire challenge was raw in the middle, but she didn’t agree that she served raw chicken at the French Culinary Institute. She told the judges, “I sliced the chicken myself, and I checked every single one,” and to her colleagues she insisted, “That chicken was not $#%-in raw, cause I cut every single one.” Still, Judge Gail Simmons said her chicken was pink, and as the night went on, her chicken became raw in the retelling.
Does the chicken in this picture look cooked to you? Color is a lousy indicator of the doneness of chicken. The pictured chicken comes from Pete Snyder, meat thermometer guru, and has been cooked to the required 165 F. Sara would have had a stronger case, had her flavors not been off, by using a meat thermometer and having hard evidence to back up her dish. Cutting the chicken and visually checking the internal temperature is not a proven food safety method.Just yesterday the National Pork Board reportedly began their case for lowering the recommended cooking temperatures for pork from the currently approved 160F. Board member Steve Larsen said, "We've conducted an initial retail study and risk assessment, and the science of safety is definitely there to support the lowering." How would you know your pork is a few degrees off from optimal taste and safe cooking temperature just by looking at it? Ask pork superstar cheftestant Howie. He won once with perfectly cooked lamb chops that were verified with a thermometer.
They call me...Tater Salad.
Mmm…nothing starts off the semester like a well-charred burger and a heaping pile of tater salad. But like Ron White, this tater salad should not be out in pub-lic.
I was recently a guest at a “welcome back” picnic along with about fifty other students. A few of the dozen or so faculty in attendance grilled up a box full of beef patties and tossed them in a pile for us all to assemble and consume in traditional picnic fashion. I looked them over, picked a luke warm specimen out of the bunch and threw it on a bun with ketchup. But was it done? It certainly looked done, but charred as it may appear, color is no indicator of doneness.
The star of the show, however, was really the five tubs of Kroger brand Mustard Potato Salad lying open on the adjacent table. “Poop Salad" as it was recently dubbed by a ColumbusING blogger from Columbus, Ohio, where E. coli O157:H7 was found in the salads during a routine safety check. This was after the product was distributed and sold, of course. (That’s just the way these things work.) So Kroger did the socially responsible thing and issued a recall in attempt to remove the possibly tainted salad out of the refrigerators of innocent people and dispose of it properly.
So how does a recall happen? The information goes out: newspapers are picking up the story, TV news crews are spreading the word, satellites in outer space are linking up… but people are sitting around eating recalled potato salad like there’s just a little guy in a booth tapping Morse code and sad little beepings just can’t keep up.
It’s sad that it seems so true. Somebody out there is not keeping up. But who? During the recent Castleberry chili recall people were still eating the stuff, not knowing there could be a botulism toxin inside, weeks after the recall was announced.
How do we get people to care about the safety of the food they eat? “I was tainted on a production line (possibly),” the tater salad cries. “You threw me…in-to pub-lic.” But the public isn’t paying any attention.
Casey Wilkinson is an undergrad research student at iFSN, and she loves her mom's tater salad.
I was recently a guest at a “welcome back” picnic along with about fifty other students. A few of the dozen or so faculty in attendance grilled up a box full of beef patties and tossed them in a pile for us all to assemble and consume in traditional picnic fashion. I looked them over, picked a luke warm specimen out of the bunch and threw it on a bun with ketchup. But was it done? It certainly looked done, but charred as it may appear, color is no indicator of doneness.
The star of the show, however, was really the five tubs of Kroger brand Mustard Potato Salad lying open on the adjacent table. “Poop Salad" as it was recently dubbed by a ColumbusING blogger from Columbus, Ohio, where E. coli O157:H7 was found in the salads during a routine safety check. This was after the product was distributed and sold, of course. (That’s just the way these things work.) So Kroger did the socially responsible thing and issued a recall in attempt to remove the possibly tainted salad out of the refrigerators of innocent people and dispose of it properly.
So how does a recall happen? The information goes out: newspapers are picking up the story, TV news crews are spreading the word, satellites in outer space are linking up… but people are sitting around eating recalled potato salad like there’s just a little guy in a booth tapping Morse code and sad little beepings just can’t keep up.
It’s sad that it seems so true. Somebody out there is not keeping up. But who? During the recent Castleberry chili recall people were still eating the stuff, not knowing there could be a botulism toxin inside, weeks after the recall was announced.
How do we get people to care about the safety of the food they eat? “I was tainted on a production line (possibly),” the tater salad cries. “You threw me…in-to pub-lic.” But the public isn’t paying any attention.
Casey Wilkinson is an undergrad research student at iFSN, and she loves her mom's tater salad.
Heat em up, eat em up... KSU!
My favorite time of year is here, college football season. My team, the Kansas State University Wildcats kicks off their season Saturday night on the road against Auburn. Even though I won't be traveling to the game I'll still be doing the one thing I love to do before a home game, grilling out. To me, nothing is better than getting in some brats and burgers before walking up to the stadium to cheer on my cats. However, the tailgating scene can get pretty crazy sometimes and food safety may slip some people's minds. Here are some good tips for the tailgating season.
- Keep cold food in a cooler at less than 40°F (and keep there beers this cold too!)
- Make sure the different meats are kept wrapped to prevent cross contamination. Making a burger topped with chicken is delicious, but stacking these meats is only acceptable after cooking
- Cook food to the right temperature
- Steaks (beef, pork, fish, lamb) - 145°F
- Ground (beef, pork, lamb) - 160°F
- Chicken (whole, ground) - 165°F
- Probably the smartest thing you can have is a meat thermometer. It's the only true and tested way to tell if the food is done, and many are small enough to fit in your pocket. These should be a tailgater's best friend.
- Hot foods should not be left out for more than 2 hours. As much as you might want to have some food after the game, it is not acceptable to leave the burgers out for all 4 quarters. Put it away and reheat if needed.
The post title is a play on a popular chant at K-state games, thus I find it easy to remember to heat my foods to the proper temperatures. Starting next week you can find me at the Bill Snyder Family Stadium cooking, and losing my voice inside the stadium (from about where the picture above was taken).
Prediction: KSU 21 - Auburn 20
Restaurant Wars
In last night’s episode of Bravo's Top Chef, the winning team used a meat thermometer. While this is a rarity within the celebrity chef circle, at least based on what we see in the final cut, it’s the second time I’ve seen one used on Top Chef this season (both times the chefs became winners, and both times they were cooking lamb). Last night Quatre’s sous-chef Howie wielded the same sort of digital tip-sensitive thermometer that we use at home. He had the unsliced chops, on their side, and inserted the thermometer into the middle of the meat. (Of course, this week the cheftestants also had head judge Chef Tom Colicchio watching them in the kitchen.) While Howie’s former nemesis, Joey, called his chops, “Typical Howie, undercooked!” the judges said they were cooked beautifully and perfectly. They had ordered their chops rare. For those of you interested in trying this at home, there is no simple answer for finding the correct temperature of perfect-rare and safe lamb chops. Some recipe sites I consulted recommended a temperature of 125 F-130 degrees for medium rare. However, according to USDA for beef, veal and lamb (steaks, roasts and chops), medium rare is at 145 °F and medium is 160 °F.
Hormel proposes the following:
“Traditional guidelines state that lamb cooked very rare, rare, medium rare, or medium should have an internal temperature ranging between 115ºF to 145°F. With increased concern over bacteria that may be present in the internal portions of lamb, it is now recommended that whole lamb cuts be cooked to a final internal temperature (after resting) of not less than 145°F.”
While Howie may have hit the right temperature to please the judges, no one knows what his magic thermometer reading actually was. Still, I’m glad to see a thermometer once again on the show, used correctly (i.e inserted into the thickest portion of the meat), and this time for more than a second.
Just cook the burgers and no one will get sick ...
.jpg)
Andrew Wadge is the chief scientist for the U.K. Food Standards Agency; Andy has a blog.On Aug. 2, 2007, a Judith Hilton posted on Andy's blog that,
"UK Government advice about cooking burgers is more stringent than in the US and we were asked to consider whether our advice was still appropriate, bearing in mind claims the cooking times and temperatures recommended in the UK may lead to overcooking and deterioration in the quality of some products.
"Mindful of this, but also of the fact that undercooked burgers can harbour harmful food bugs such as E. coli O157, which can cause food poisoning and kidney failure, and that the advice had not been expertly reviewed since 1998, we asked the ACMSF to review what we were saying, which is that burgers should be cooked to 70°C for 2 minutes or equivalent. In other words, until burgers are piping hot throughout, there are no pink bits and the juices run clear."
On Aug. 2, 2007, I posted a comment, asking,
Why is the U.K. advice considered more stringent that the U.S.? Especially when the U.K. makes no mention of using meat thermometers and instead relies on the tremendously misleading, cook until the juices run clear?
On Aug. 7, 2007, Ms. Hilton responded that,
"The stringency relates to the time-temperature combinations whereby US guidance allows combinations that will provide a lower log reduction that 70 degrees for two minutes.
The reason we don't mention temperature probes during cooking is that they're not commonly used in the home over here. … Sorry you don't find the reference to juices running clear helpful. It's there as an additional safety check, alongside cooker manufacturer' instructions. These instructions are designed to achieve a minimum temperature of 70 degrees C for two minutes or equivalent."
Without getting into the inadequacies on cooking instructions (and we don't just blather about it, we're doing research on it, rightt now -- dp) I responded,"Thanks for your comments. But they seem incomplete, especially when you are claiming that U.K. standards are more stringent than U.S. (and I'm Canadian so find the jingoism peculiar).
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture seems to have covered much of the basics in this oldie but goodie release. And while use of thermometers may be low in the U.K. and elsewhere, isn't it the responsibility of government agencies to produce evidence-based material, and even promote best practices? Like using meat thermometers? It's a research challenge we will be undertaking."
Top Chefs... Stick it in
Last night on Bravo’s Top Chef, Micah got eliminated for her bad-tasting but healthy meatloaf. Last week, Micah caught my attention as she used a meat thermometer in the barbeque elimination challenge. She came in the top three for her perfectly grilled lamb chops.
This is the same show that has had openly sick (or at least nauseated) chefs cooking anyway because they didn’t want to be kicked out of the competition (they wouldn't get work in Michigan, where the state has proposed that someone with vomiting, diarrhea or a sore throat with fever could not return until 24 hours after the symptoms are gone).
And last night when the oven wasn’t working and Cheftestant Sara M’s chicken didn’t get done, she handpicked and served the pieces that looked cooked… no meat thermometer in sight, at least to the viewers.
Although Micah’s gone now, hats off to her. Often depressed and crying, missing her daughter, Micah still had the presence of mind to stick in the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of her barbecued meat. Whether she did it for accuracy or safety, Micah’s choice to use a thermometer stood out. How often do you see one on a TV cooking show? Perhaps the climate on the reality cooking circuit will change.
In 2004, Doug's laboratory reported that, based on 60 hours of detailed viewing of television cooking shows, an unsafe food handling practice occurred about every four minutes, and that for every safe food handling practice observed, they observed 13 unsafe practices. The most common errors were inadequate hand washing and cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
Hey, reality cooking show producers: serve up another helping of food safety.
Washing my meat thermometer - part II
Not quite satisfied with my inability to get a quick answer to my meat thermometer quandary, I did a Google search on “Food Safety Question.” “Ask Karen” popped up as the first hit. She’s the FSIS virtual representative for USDA. I typed in my question, “Do I need to wash my digital meat thermometer or is this bad for the mechanism?” This is what Karen said:
Thermometers are devices that measure temperatures. Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to ensure the safety of meat, poultry and egg products. To be safe, these foods must be cooked to an internal temperature high enought [sic] to destroy any harmful microorganisms that may be in the food.If I were anyone else, I would have given up with this huge list of questions. But being the inquisitive (stubborn) nerd that I am, I searched through and clicked on “What is the proper way to clean a food thermometer?” Karen says, “As with any cooking utensil, food thermometers should be washed with hot soapy water. Most thermometers should not be immersed in water. Wash carefully by hand.”
* Are food thermometers best for large cuts of meat?
* Can oven-safe bimetallic coil thermometers be used in the oven?
* How accurate do thermometers need to be?
* How many people use a food thermometer?
* How to use a food thermometer?
* Can I use a people thermometer for meat and poultry?
* What are deep fry thermometers?
* What is a bimetallic coil thermometer?
* What is a liquid-filled thermometer?
* What is a pop up timer?
* What is a refrigerator thermometer?
* What is a T-Stick?
* What is a thermistor thermometer?
* What is a thermocouple thermometer?
* What is a thermometer fork?
* What is an instant-read thermometer?
* What is an oven cord thermometer?
* What is an oven thermometer?
* What is the proper way to clean a food thermometer?
* What percentage of Americans own food thermometers?
* What types of kitchen thermometers are available?
* Where can I buy a food thermometer?
* Why is it so important that people use a food thermometer when cooking meat, poultry, and eggs?
Karen’s advice sounds … sound. But it isn’t really practical if I’m cooking two things on the grill at once. Will the internal temperatures get hot enough to kill the microbes on the metal if I probe another piece of meat? I’m certainly no scientist, but I wonder what the real cross-contamination risks are. I also wondered if another source would give me a different answer.
Next I Googled, “Wash meat thermometer” (in quotes) and I got exactly one result-- a document entitled “FY 2001 Annual Report of Accomplishments and Results: Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.” This report, comprised of many project overviews, provided one on “Quick & Easy Cooking Schools.” In this project pilot cooking schools were offered in two Oklahoma counties, one of which had a 159% higher rate of foodborne illness than the rest of the state and this was 219% higher than the rest of the U.S. Using a 70 page Quick & Easy Cooking School curriculum, thirty cooking schools were taught in 2000. As a result, the worst county (Washita) dropped from 159% above the state rate to 100% below the state rate for foodborne illnesses. Here are some other “anecdotal” results:
“In addition, there was an increase in the number who used a meat thermometer after attending the cooking school. Moreover, the following are samples of additional food safety comments from participants regarding what they learned: ‘Wash meat thermometer in-between insertions. Do not just rinse the grilling tray that held raw meat but wash it before putting cooked meat back on it. Do not thaw meat on the counter.’”
My friends at iFSN also found the following references for me:
From the Beef Information Centre “Thermometer Know-How” states, “Always use hot soapy water to wash the tongs, plate and thermometer stem used in checking partially cooked meats before using again.”
From the food safety network’s own page, Cooking Temperatures 06.jul.05, “Wash the thermometer stem in hot soapy water every time you use it.”
The explanation that finally cured my curiosity was this one from O. Peter Snyder Jr. His study, “FOODBORNE ILLNESS HAZARD CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR CHURCHES AND NON-REGULATED GROUP FEEDING SITUATIONS” in 1992 for the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management (May 1998 edition) explains that while cooking large pieces of meat, “Do not roast meats, etc. on a spit or stick the meat with a fork, because it will unnecessarily contaminate the center of the food. Always wash the stem of a thermometer before putting it into cooked, ready-to-eat food.”
Now on to investigating how many people use a fork when they grill.
