The beef recall, and avoiding contamination
Feb. 25
Did anyone get sick from the recent recall of beef processed by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.? Last year there were 21 such recalls, including that of 21.7 million pounds of raw meat distributed by the Topps Meat Co. And, if the ground meat of a clean animal is ground with that of a contaminated one (standard operating procedure), the whole mass will be compromised. Avoiding premade burgers and grinding your own meat may reduce your risk of infection somewhat, but cooking ground beef until a thermometer probing the center reads at least 160 degrees should eliminate it.