Tag Archives: Hamburger

Victims of French E. coli O157 outbreak want to know why it happened; courts slow to respond

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Nine-year-old Ugo Picot was stricken with E. coli O157:H7 linked to frozen meatballs in tomato sauce in June 2011.

Ugo was one of eight children in Northern France confirmed with E. coli O157 after eating beef bought from German retailer, Lidl.

When his mother took him to the hospital because of persistent vomiting, she was told, “gastroenteritis is seven days, it is only five,” and was sent home.

As reported in today’s edition of La Voix du Nord, "One morning, Ugo is not well at all. I felt like my heart would stop beating. Back in the hospital and the beginning of the nightmare. Helicopter transfer to hospital of Lille, a tube in his stomach: dialysis, to flush the kidneys.”

Didier Picot and Virginia were told Ugo had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS); Virginia still trembles at the memory of a psychiatrist come "talk of death" to his son.

A year later, Ugo is a small boy of nine who tires more easily than others, and his kidneys will return to normal functioning.

In the corridors of the hospital in Lille, she met the parents of other small children, and that most had bought ground meat brand Country Steak at Lidl.

The parents have launched legal action, but progress is slow.

Albert Amgar writes on his blog that it is rare in France to hear the voice of those who have suffered from food poisoning.

People probably sick: E. coli O157:H7 warning for Toronto ground beef

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In CFIA-speak, “no confirmed illnesses” means people are sick it just hasn’t been confirmed by testing; “no reported illnesses” means they don’t know of anyone who is sick.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the ground beef described below because the products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The affected products, Ground Beef Reg. and Ground Beef Lean, were sold in plastic bags of varying weight on May 31, 2012 from the Kabul Farms store located at 255 Dundas Street West, Mississauga, Ontario. The packages bear a sticker with the product name, the store’s name and the price.

Consumers are advised to contact the retailer if you are unsure as to whether you have the affected beef products stored in your home freezer.

There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Cliches and undercooking abound: fancy food trucks in Paris

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As an Anglophone Canadian, it’s second nature to make fun of the French.

My Welsh grandfather, with his Winston Churchill ashtray, would often pronounce his hatred of the Canadian version, the Quebecois, while watching Toronto-Montreal hockey games back when both teams didn’t suck.

That’s how old I am.

The New York Times reports the Cantine California started parking in Paris in April, the latest in a recent American culinary invasion that includes chefs at top restaurants; trendy menu items like cheesecake, bagels and bloody Marys; and notions like chalking the names of farmers on the walls of restaurants.

What the story describes as the hugely popular burger truck Le Camion Qui Fume (The Smoking Truck), owned by Kristin Frederick, a California native who graduated from culinary school in Paris, I describe as an advert for chefs-don’t-know-crap-about-food-safety (see Heston-norovirus-isn’t-my-fault-Blumenthal, who prepared some stuff for the Queen).

American chefs are at the helm of some of Paris’s hippest restaurants, like Daniel Rose of Spring, Kevin O’Donnell of L’Office and Braden Perkins of Verjus. And the city’s collective crush on high-end hamburgers continues: Parisians are paying 29 euros, or just over $36, for the popular burger at Ralph’s, the Hamptons-Wyoming-chic restaurant in the palatial Ralph Lauren store.

The story is full of hopeless clichés and food porn, but worse is the food safety in the accompanying video, with apparently raw beef as hamburgers; I guess it’s OK because it’s grass-fed (note to insufferable foodies – that’s called sarcasm).

Amy’s going to France for research at the end of the month (that’s her, on the right, in France, me on the left). My recollection is she liked her street-food baguettes. The produce and seafood in Brisbane is far superior to Paris. The bloody Marys were better in Manhattan (Kansas).

Is your hamburger done? Color is a lousy indicator; K-State’s Hunt honored by American Meat Science Association

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The American Meat Science Association has announced that Melvin C. Hunt of Kansas State University is the recipient of the 2012 American Meat Science Association R. C. Pollock Award. He will be honored at the AMSA 65th Reciprocal Meat Conference on June 19 in Fargo, N.D.

Sponsored by the AMSA Educational Foundation, the award honors an AMSA member whose work through teaching, extension, research, or service represents an extraordinary and lasting contribution to the meat industry.

“Dr. Hunt’s reputation as a preeminent meat color researcher is well-known throughout the world,” said Thomas Powell, executive director of AMSA. “His service to the meat industry and the meat science discipline spans two decades of teaching, mentoring and research.”

Hunt, or ‘Hunter’ as he is known, began his career as a research chemist for Tennessee Eastman Company working on new applications of antioxidants, surfactants and meat packaging systems. He also developed a proprietary base for functional dietary fibers suitable for sequestering bile acids and lowering serum cholesterol and as a replacement for nitrite in cured meats.

He has been a part of the animal science faculty at Kansas State University since 1975, where his research focused on postmortem meat quality with particular interest in factors affecting meat color and myoglobin chemistry. He served as chair of the Food Science and Industry Undergraduate Program for 19 years.

Hunt is internationally recognized for his expertise in meat color measurement and was the primary author of the Guidelines for Meat Color Measurement published by AMSA. The guide is the only comprehensive document on meat color measurement available to meat scientists.

He has published widely on meat pigment chemistry, meat color and packaging systems. In the last six years, he has authored or co-authored 51 refereed journal articles and he has been a speaker at national and international conferences to discuss his research. He has received research funding from national and commodity sources and from more than 50 major packaging and ingredient companies to address pigment chemistry, shelf life, color life, cold chain management, product palatability and microbiology.

Hunt is considered to be among the top five meat color experts in the world. His former graduate students hold prominent positions in government, industry and academia. He has been recognized by several organizations for contributions to research, teaching and advising.

And he’s a nice guy. Gracious when I spoke at the local Rotary a couple of years ago, and always willing to help with questions. Here’s Hunter speaking with me while tailgating before a Kansas State football game four years ago. And some key 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 

Stop fingering burgers, use a thermometer, avoid spreading bugs and sprouts

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Spot the cross-contamination: Emeril on Good Morning America this morning, which is broadcast the next day in Australia at 3:30 a.m.; even used raw sprouts.

The video is at http://abcnews.go.com/watch/good-morning-america/SH5587637/VD55206537/gma-528-emerils-memorial-day-burgers.

But I can’t get it in Australia. Maybe Chapman will embed it.

This version works, poorly.

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

E. coli happens: cook burgers to 165F, whatever ruminant it came from

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Seventeen years ago, Gregg Jesperson ate a burger that was still pink at a mom-and-pop restaurant in northern Alberta (that’s in Canada), where he and his family were living at the time.

The medication he’ll have to take for life is one reason why he’s not going to forget what happened anytime soon.

Jesperson, now a teacher at Booth Memorial in St. John’s, ate the burger on a Thursday.

By Sunday, it was determined Jesperson had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, or hamburger disease.

Jesperson was hospitalized almost four weeks, undergoing dialysis and being hooked up to a machine that withdraws plasma and replaces it.

After his release, it took him almost a year to regain his physical strength.

Jesperson, who always enjoyed a rare steak, says he wasn’t aware of the dangers of uncooked hamburger meat before that.

“I’m a big fella, fairly hardy and that, and it really knocked the piss right out of me,” he says.

These days, Jesperson gets nervous when he sees people served burgers that are a little pink.

If he grills one himself, he “cooks the bejeezus out of it.”

His advice is to do the same, and not to be afraid to send undercooked burgers back at a restaurant.

Better advice would be to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer because color is a lousy indicator of safety.

But this story is a lot better than the misguided letter-writer to a New Brunswick newspaper (also in Canada) who insisted dangerous E. coli like O157 only “grows inside of dairy and beef cattle that are fed a high proportion of grain.” Way to recycle a 15-year-old myth.

Effectively communicating risks should lead to less risky food choices, not laws

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When it comes to social issues I’m a bit of a libertarian hippy. I’ve looked the part (big bushy beard and longer thinning hair); used to play ultimate frisbee (poorly); and, our first-born was delivered at home. I saw The Dead, after Jerry, but I never really got into Phish.

The philosophy I’ve embraced around food safety is let people eat what they want. 

Extension folks like me should provide the best available evidence culled from the literature to help eaters calculate the risks and benefits of food choices. Present the info in a compelling way and then step back to let the individual do their thing.

Hopefully the choice results in the least amount of barf.

As North Carolina moves down the path of adopting the U.S FDA model food code, restaurant patrons will be able to order an undercooked burger, and the restaurant able to serve it, without risking a lower inspection grade. The responsibility to communicate the risks associated with undercooked burgers, and other raw/undercooked animal-derived foods (eggs, poultry, fish) lies with the restaurant. Risk must be disclosed somehow, and a reminder presented to the patron when they order.

Temperature guidance for cooking burgers doesn’t change (the food code suggests 155F for 15 seconds or 160F for 5-log reduction), just the ability for the restaurant to respond to patron requests – with the caveat of the mandatory risk discussion. And the risk dialogue applies to stuff like Caesar salad dressing, hollandaise sauce and sushi.

According to Kathleen Purvis of the Charlotte Observer:

The N.C. Commission for Public Health this week approved the adoption of most of the 2009 federal food code. Among other changes, it would allow restaurant customers to order raw or undercooked foods if the restaurant provides a warning – usually a note on the menu – to remind you it’s dangerous. A similar procedure is already followed in many states, including South Carolina.

“This really does represent the largest comprehensive change in our food safety rules in over 30 years.”
How big is that? It’s so big that when we called chef-owner Tom Condron at The Liberty, a pub known for its burgers, he was actually willing to come to the phone during the lunch rush.
“About time,” he said happily. “The quality of beef and the preparation have come so far. It’s about time North Carolina stepped up. For restaurants like us and others that grind in-house and take all the steps to make sure we get top-quality beef, it’s an important change.”
Michael says adopting the federal food code allows North Carolina to use the latest research in forming its own food safety standards.
“The majority of states use it,” he said. “It’s the most comprehensive standard out there.”
But the big one, Michael admitted, is the standard on allowing customers to request raw or undercooked foods. As it is now, undercooked burgers are often served to customers even though the restaurant isn’t supposed to do it – a sort of “wink-and-nudge” approach to food safety.
What the new regulation would do is put the decision into the hands of the consumer. The restaurant would have to tell you that you’re ordering a food that isn’t cooked to a safe level and it has to tell you that eating undercooked or raw foods puts you at a risk of foodborne illness, such as salmonella.
“This consumer advisory will be more helpful in ensuring consumers know they’re increasing their risk.”
 
I’m not sure what knowing the source well has to do with evaluating whether the primal cuts have pathogen-containing poop on the surface and in-house grinding can spread that surface bacteria just as well as at a processing plant.
 
Regardless of the source or method, undercooked ground beef carry food safety risks; restaurants with a positive food safety culture will communicate this effectively – or won’t serve it at all.

 

Food safety expert warns of ‘nasty bug’ in beef recall

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Ex-pat food safety type Ben Chapman, described as currently professoring at North Carolina State University, was brought in by Canadian media today to add his perspective on the creepy crawly E. coli O157:H7 recall that now includes 135 different products.

“(It’s) really a nasty bug. As a father of two little boys, it’s one of the bugs that scares me the most.”

Chapman added that the growing nature of the beef recall shows that authorities "just weren’t able to find out what the history of the (originally suspect) product was, so they’ve essentially recalled everything that producer has put out."

Garfield Balsom, a food safety and recall specialist at the Canadian Food Inspection Agenc, clarified the expanded recall of frozen burgers and steakettes all came from a Saskatoon food-processing plant operating under the name New Food Classics that has since stopped operations.

Chapman recommended using a thermometer to ensure hamburger has reached an internal temperature of 71C , noting that the inside color of meat is not a reliable indicator of how well cooked it is.

Norm Neault, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union local representing New Food Classics workers in Saskatoon, said the company had been struggling for some time and had gone into creditor protection in January. He said it was facing higher prices from its distributors for the raw products yet locked into long-term prices with its customers, resulting in lower profit margins.

The complete list of recalled products can be found online at: www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2012/20120319cliste.shtml

24 sick; ground beef possible cause of Ottawa salmonella outbreak

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The local owner of a catering franchise linked to 20 cases of salmonella in Ottawa told CBC News he is treating the outbreak "as if it’s his fault" and said he suspects ground beef as a potential cause.

Ottawa Public Health today increased the confirmed case count to 24, including four adults, and the remainder children from a variety of area schools, now including Stittsville Public School.

Jonathan Morris, who has operated a franchise of "The Lunch Lady" for five years, said hebelieves the food in question is ground beef used to make tacos and curly lasagna.

Ottawa Public Health has not implicated any specific food.

Morris is meeting with public health officials Thursday and has also sent a letter to thousands of parents. He said some parents have already cancelled their lunch service, while others are offering support.

More on pink and thermometers

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Surveys still suck.

Using I-own-a-thermometer as an indicator of thermometer use is as useful as I-own-a-sink therefore I wash my hands. Or, I own a toilet, so I always hit the bowl. Or … use your imagination.

Researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration report in the Journal of Food Protection that the use of a food thermometer is the best way to ensure that meat, poultry, and other foods reach an internal temperature sufficient to destroy foodborne pathogens.

The 1998, 2001, 2006, and 2010 Food Safety Surveys were used to analyze changes in food thermometer ownership and usage for roasts, chicken parts, and hamburgers in the United States.

But surveys still suck.

The paper notes that when E. coli O157:H7 was first associated with ground beef in the 1980s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommended that consumers cook hamburgers until the meat was ‘‘brown or pinkish brown in the center. However, as a result of research that showed that one out of four hamburgers may be brown in the center before reaching a safe internal temperature, the USDA changed its advice to consumers— instead of using color as an indicator of doneness in hamburgers, consumers should use a food thermometer to ensure that a safe temperature has been reached. In May 2000, the USDA launched the Thermy educational campaign to encourage consumers to use a food thermometer when cooking small cuts of meat, such as hamburgers and chicken parts. The USDA also provided guidance to consumers about the safe temperature for various cuts of meat and poultry.

Ho Phang and Christine Bruhn reported earlier in JFP that in video observation of 199 California consumers making hamburgers and salad in their own kitchens, handwashing was poor, only 4% used a thermometer to check if the burger was safely cooked, and there were an average of 43 cross-contamination events per household. They concluded Thermy had not been successful.

We did our own survey with 40 people brought in to cook a chicken meal in a Kansas State kitchen and videotaped their behaviors. Many participants reported owning a food thermometer (73%) and nearly half (42.5%) of participants reported knowing the suggested end temperature for cooking poultry to ensure doneness. When asked the final recommended internal temperature for chicken, the mean response was 214°F with a range of responses from 140°F to 450°F. (The correct answer is 165F)

Of those participants observed measuring the internal temperature of the product, only three used the thermometer correctly. During observation, two individuals who used the thermometers failed to remove protective casings prior to taking internal temperature readings, and therefore used the instruments incorrectly.

Surveys do not measure behaviors: they give an indication of what people think their behavior is, or what the survey person wants to hear, but that isn’t going to get people to use a thermometer (tip-sensitive, digital).