Albert Amgar provided this story from Agence France-Presse about an E. coli O157:H7 beef recall, Nikki Marcotte translated, Amy Hubbell proofed and I embellished.

At least this French company is suggesting a temperature, but doesn’t say how that is to accomplished in a hamburger patty. And while thorough cooking to the appropriate temperature (the. U.S. says 160) will destroy the bad bugs, cross-contamination in any kitchen – home, food service, retail – is a huge issue and difficult to control. Here’s the story.

It was announced Friday that the Covial company, which specializes in ground and vacuum-packed beef, is recalling batches of hamburger and fresh ground beef sold in Carrefour et Casino stores under their own label due to a risk of food poisoning.

The products have been removed from the shelves; consumers have been asked not to eat these products in which the bacteria E. Coli O157:H7 was detected during a self-check, said Covial in a statement. To date, no consumer complaints have been reported, the statement said.

The recall affects 3.8 tons of products that have been sold in the Carrefour stores, Carrefour Market, Carrefour City, Carrefour Contact, Shopi, 8 À Huit, Marché Plus, Géant Casino and Casino supermarkets, according to the source.

The batches bear the following inspection stamp: FR 15 014 032 CE. The products’ expiration dates are July 6th and 7th for the Carrefour batches and July 7th for the Casino batches.

Those affected, for Carrefour, are the Aquitaine, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Centre, Franche-Comté, Haut-Rhin, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Midi-Pyrénées, Poitou-Charentes et Rhône-Alpes regions. For Casino, the center and the southwest quarter of the country are concerned.

Thoroughly cooking the hamburgers helps prevent the consequences of a contamination of this type, the bacteria is destroyed at 65°C (149 F). The E. coli O157:H7 bacteria can cause symptoms such as gastroenteritis, sometimes accompanied by a fever, within 10 days following the consumption of the contaminated hamburgers.

In rare cases, poisoning can be followed by severe kidney complications in children and in the elderly. Consumers can call 0805 803 134 (free from a land line).