11/2/09USDA reports possibility of tainted meat sold in the form of meatloaf or patties. Voluntary recall by Fairbank Farms, Asheville, NY

Distributed by: Trader Joes, Price Chopper, Wild Harvest, BJ’s Giant Foods

Meat Dated Oct 7, 2009
Identifying code: EST492

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Preventing E.coli in the kitchen.

Can consumers prevent cross-contamination by simply following directions on a package of ground beef?

This video produced by Michael Moss of the NY Times demonstrates hamburger meat safety and the effectiveness of the Safe Handling Instructions in preventing E. coli.

See the Video:
Hamburger Confidential

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Four Easy Lessons in Safe Food Handling

Don’t let foodborne illness ruin your game day experience. Follow these tips from the US Dept of Agriculture before you tailgate. Here is USDA’s Pat OLeary.

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Source: www.sizzleonthegrill.com

The US Dept of Health Web Site FoodSafety.gov

Cooking outdoors for friends and family can and should be a rewarding and tasty time for everyone. But sometimes folks seem to forget the common practices of food safety they adhere to when cooking indoors only a few steps away! I just cant stress enough how important it is to pay attention to using the best practices for handling food in all the various states of preparation. From the way you store raw meat to how you keep it separated from other foods during preparation and even how you hold it for service are all important to ensure you and your family have the best possible dining experiences when cooking outdoors. There are many serious problems that can occur when you, as the chef of your kitchen, disregard basic hygienic safeguards.

I keep several food safety web sites on my favorite bookmarks list and refer to them often to double check especially now having reached the double nickle age and the senior moment gene has activated! The one I refer to most often is FoodSafety.gov and its now better. The newly enhanced U.S. Government Dept. of Health web site contains all manner of information about food safety, of special interest to me is the information on meat cooking times and storage. Its easier to use and has plenty of quick tips, charts, and videos to help you stay on top of the best food safety practices to follow in your kitchen be it the indoor or the outdoor one! So give it a look and maybe bookmark it for future reference: http://foodsafety.gov

Happy Grilling!

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Beef Quality Grades Beef Inspection The wholesomeness of the U.S. meat supply is ensured by meat inspection. All meat that is sold must, by law, pass inspection. Meat products are among the most highly regulated and supervised products in the food supply. Everyone pays for meat inspection through taxes. USDA Grading Meat grading is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Beef quality grades indicate palatability characteristics such as tenderness, juiciness and flavor. There are eight quality grades for beef which reflect the amount of marbling (fat within the lean), firmness, color and texture of the beef, and the maturity of the animal. Grading is optional and paid for by meat processors. More than half of the beef available is graded. Generally, only three grades are identified and sold to restaurants and at retail: Prime has the most marbling. It usually is sold to restaurants, although some specialty meat markets and supermarkets may carry it. Choice cuts tend to have a little less marbling. Choice is the most widely available grade in the market. Select has the least amount of marbling, making it leaner but often less juicy and flavorful than the other two grades.

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Recently I had to opportunity, along with a few other bloggers, to attend an event atUnderwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, IL. I was given a tour of the facility and learned a ton about what this company does to ensure that the products that you and I use around the house and in tons of our daily activities are safe. Maybe you have noticed the UL label on the side of your hairdryer or on some of the cords for things you use. UL is also committed to educating families about how to keep safe. They have established a website called Safety At Home which has fantastic information as they try and create a safety movement in homes across the country. I learned so much in my day there and cant wait to share some tips that I learned and share some failures I have found around our house when it comes to safety. In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to let you know I am not at all obligated by UL to share anything despite the fact they hosted me, but I really feel this information is important. They did provide me with some gift cards which I will be passing on to you all later this week so pay attention. The thing that was most shocking to me to learn was what I learned about grilling safety. There are 8300 home fires a year and 4900 of them begin outside. In doing a quick inspection of our grilling set up, I really realized we had dropped the ball. And we endure much teasing from family and friends about how obsessed with safety we can be so I assumed we would pass all tests with flying colors. Here are4tips to make sure your family is safe when you are grilling.

1. Keep grills at least 10 feet from any structures: I was amazed to hear stories of people grilling inside their garages or other enclosed areas. This is a big no-no. Our grill is frankly too close to the house and we saw first hand how quickly things can catch fire and spread in a freakish fire demonstration. Keep all flammable fabrics and decorations far from the grill and dont leave in unattended. Seriously, it took minutes for everything to go up in frames, easily the time it took to run inside and answer a phone call.
2. Have a spray bottle or fire extinguisher handy: Um yeah, ours is inside. Far from our grill. And I realized I didnt have the fainest clue how to use one when I was called upon to try and put out a fire. You can check out the video below and see I didnt have much success in using one. You should never practice using one because once the pin is discharged the extinguisher is no good, but I didnt even know there was a pin to pull so I would have been in trouble had I tried to use one.
3. Never use gasoline or kerosene to light a fire: Both will give you quite the explosion. Also you should use proper grilling tools including flame retardant mitts, long handled BBQ tongs and other utensils. Coals can reach up to 1000 degrees (seriously) so you need to make sure they are completely cool before disposing of them. Obviously keep kids and pets away from the grill.
4. Check gas grill hoses for cracking, holes and leaks: Do not attempt to repair things yourself with duct tape. Either get a qualified repair person or replace your grill. This is not a time to be cheap. A new grill is a lot cheaper than a new house when the old one burns to the ground.

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Source: www.sizzleonthegrill.com

Raw ground beef. Photo by Cobalt123 at Flickr

When I was a kid I can clearly remember my dad using a hand crank meat grinder that clamped onto the counter top. Hed feed chunks of beef into it and turn the crank, as bright red and speckled white freshly ground meat disgorged from the grinder hed take a fork-full and place it on a saltine, a good seasoning with both salt and pepper and wed gobble it up. My mom would shriek and we boys all thought we were getting away with something!

Fast forward 50 years.

These days if you prepare your own ground beef and are 100% certain of the quality of the source of the meat I would still advise against eating raw hamburger as we did. And especially if you purchase ground beef from the grocery store, either prepared at the store by the trained pros in the meat department or in those big tubes of ground meat. There is just too big of a risk that youll get some bacteria critter into your system and, just in case youve never had it, food poisoning is not a simple issue of discomfort. It can be life threatening!

Raw ground meat is not safe to eat. Hamburger is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160F degrees as measured by a tip sensitive meat thermometer. Color is an unsafe indicator of doneness. Wash your hands after touching raw meat and before touching ready to eat products like buns. Prevent cross contamination! (This also goes for storing condiments like mustard, ketchup, mayo and the veggies like onions (these are little petri dishes!) and tomatoes, cheese, etc. keep them covered and out of direct sunlight, cooled at or below 45F degrees!)

Personally Ive switched over to using frozen burger patties like Bubba Burgers and have pretty much stopped making my own. When I do make my own burger patties, I make them the night before, less than 1/2 inch thick, and I freeze them as well. The chance of cross contamination using frozen meat is pretty slim, but it does have its own set of precautions. I toss the meat on a hot grill directly from the freezer, and dont waste any time between freezer and grill! Cooking a frozen beef patty has some advantages, the outside will thaw on the grates and sear, while the moisture starts to travel upwards through the ground meat and begin to cook the center, I flip and sear the other side then hold in a pan on the grill without direct heat until they finish. This keeps them moist and cooked to the right temperature! You may recognize this as the Sear & Hold method I tend to promote that (I find) ensures the outside has tasty sear marks and the inside slowly cooks to done of 160F degrees while remaining juicy.

Take a minute to plan your outdoor cooking to ensure all food will be handled, prepared and stored safely. As Chef at your home, you are responsible for safe food practices!

Happy Grilling!

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As humans, we all make mistakes. It is human nature to do so, and cannot be prevented each and every time. When it comes to barbequing, this rule is no different. We often make mistakes that we do not even realize until we taste our food, or something potentially dangerous happens.

Some mistakes just mean that the food you cook is not going to taste very good, while others could potentially mean a trip to the hospital, or a visit from your claims representative on your home insurance policy. No matter the severity of the mistake, you should do your best to try to avoid them whenever possible.

Cooking Mistakes

You must properly prepare the meat you are cooking, before cooking it. You should never attempt to cook meat on a grill when it is still frozen, or even partially frozen. Thaw your meat by sitting it out about 12 to 24 hours before you plan on cooking it, or by thawing it in a microwave.

Once meat is cooked, never put it back in on the same plate you had it on when it was raw. This could cause the spread of many unwanted illnesses.

Cooking with charcoal lighter fluid can be good or bad. The lighter fluid will cause the food you are cooking to taste different then with other types of grills. Alternatively, attempting to not use lighter fluid may cause a lot of frustration due to the fact that charcoal can be difficult if not impossible to light without lighter fluid.

Never poke you meat while it is cooking. Poking holes in meat will cause the juice inside to leak out into the bottom of the grill. Not only will this make your food dry and unappealing in the end, but it also could potentially ruin your barbeque grill. At the very least, it will cause a buildup of unwanted grease and juices on your grill, which will make cleanup harder.

Once the meat is on the grill, try not to open the lid to many times. Each time you open the lid, you change the temperature in the grill. The constant change in temperature and the air flow will cause your meat to dry up quickly.

Remember that the higher the heat is not always the better. While it is ok to quickly cook food, turning the heat up will just cause the meat to dry up and potentially burn.

While using tin foil or aluminum foil will make cleaning easier, it will cause your food to have more of a fried taste then a grilled taste.

Dangerous Mistakes

Never, under any circumstance, should you leave a grill alone when it is in use. Grilling does have fire involved, and accidents can happen. Fire spreads quickly, so being aware of your grill could mean the difference between a small fire that is quickly extinguished, and a visit from the fire department.

Never place a hot grill against a wall, even if the fire is already completely out. A hot grill can heat up an exterior wall to the point of combustion. Also, do not put the grill cover back on until you are sure that the grill is completely cool.

You grill should be cleaned after each and every use, no exceptions. While no one likes cleaning the grill, it is essential for the life and safety of your grill. If you allow your grill to sit dirty, not only are you causing a potential fire and health hazard, but you are ultimately making it harder on yourself when it does come time to clean your grill.

Make sure that your grill is completely cold before cleaning it. Spraying oil and cleaning agents on a hot surface could cause it to ignite. Be careful, because the grill may seem cool, but may still be hot in certain areas. You do not want to sustain a burn.

Related:

How to Clean Your Outdoor Grill

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