Tag Archives: Temperature

Teenagers can use thermometers for food safety

Posted on by
1

Food safety type and barfblog.com fan Valerie Hannig of Wilmington, Delaware, sent me a picture of hope this morning.

For all those government agencies who say people won’t use thermometers, so they have to be told to cook burgers until the juices run clear, or until the food is piping hot, or something equally useless, here is Valerie’s son, Alex, temping a chicken thingy (below).

Valerie says, “It makes me feel great that after all these years I have been in food safety, it is nice to see good habits passed down to the next generation of foodies.”

Stick it in.

Powell to Times – stick it in

Posted on by
Reply

The following letter appeared in the Dining and Wine section of this morning’s N.Y. Times:

Re “The Perfect Burger and All Its Parts” July 1:

The only thin piece of metal that should be stuck into the side of a hamburger is a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. Chef Seamus Mullen’s recommendation to put any thin piece of metal into the side of a burger, and “If it’s barely warm to the lips, it’s rare. If it’s like bath water, it’s medium rare,” only demonstrates the divide between food safety and food pornography.

Color is a lousy indicator of burger safety, as is the taste of metal sticks. Rather than putting E. coli O157:H7 on precious testing lips, use a thermometer.

Dr. Douglas Powell
Manhattan, Kan.

The writer is an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University.

Andrew Stormer: stick it in for safety (a thermometer)

Posted on by
Reply

Andrew Stormer (right, exactly as shown), a Kansas State food science grad who used to work with me writes from Topeka:

Food is my career and a passion, so I often find myself in conversations with people regarding trendy food topics (organic, healthy, safe etc.).  Today I found myself in the midst of a debate about the doneness of burgers with a plant employee.

The other dude was talking about the burgers he had grilled on July 4th. I asked him if he used a tip sensitive digital thermometer to determine if it had been cooked to 160°F, and the debate ensued.  He proudly proclaimed that he could tell if they are cooked “just right” by looking at the color and pushing on them with his finger.  I countered, stating that both of his methods were terrible indicators of doneness and that temperature is the only way to tell for sure.  I mentioned premature browning and that 160°F was the necessary temperature to reach to ensure the death of the common patty-pathogen E. coli O157:H7.

He persisted, saying I was wrong, and that his method had always worked and he had never made anyone sick.  How did he know that for sure, I wondered, explaining that the incubation period for E. coli was usually anywhere from about 18 to 72 hours, and that a person won’t exhibit symptoms of the infection until well after leaving the BBQ. 

He didn’t have much of a response. 

I then offered to find and show him studies, books, articles etc. that supported my claim.  He wanted none of it, and wrapped up the debate nicely with, “I just know.”  I was left frustrated and dismayed. 

This is a dangerous and arrogant attitude to have towards food safety, but unfortunately I have come across countless others that share the same “I just know” train of thought.  That said; his method is still a step above the “put-a-thin-piece-of-metal-in-the-burger-and-taste” method.

Obama at E. coli risk? What does a medium-well hamburger mean?

Posted on by
Reply

U.S. President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden (right, photo from AP) ordered a couple of medium-well hamburgers for lunch today at Ray’s Hell Burger in Virginia, and while media and blog reports were the usual gaga over, OMG, the President ate, no one asked, what does medium-well mean? Was the President at risk of contracting foodborne illness like the other 83 million American mortals each year?

Color is a lousy indicator. And who knows what medium-well means from one mom-and-pop shop to the next. One of the blogs is already having a heated discussion about what medium-well means and not one person has mentioned temperature.

Anyone out there want to do a graduate degree? Go to 100 burger joints, order burgers, and when they ask how would you like it cooked, ask the server, what does that mean. See if anyone mentions temperature. Write up the various responses in a methodologically sound way. You may save a President.
 

Football food safety

Posted on by
Reply

I expect there are some Pittsburgh Steelers fans up preparing for a day of tailgating, even though the kick-off in the American Football Conference Championship game is not for another 12 hours.

Amy will be cheering for the underdog Baltimore Ravens, because back-up wide receiver and special teams specialist Yamon Figurs played ball at Kansas State.

Amy never really followed football, except for the band. I started taking her to Kansas State games, more for the spectacle than the sport, and Amy became a fan.

Those purchasing food at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh may want to be wary. Like tailgaters, perhaps people need to take their own digital, tip-sensitive thermometer.

ThePittsburghChannel.Com reports that three-quarters of all food vendors at the stadium have been cited for critical violations in the past two years.

“Inspectors cited the Steel City Grill for serving chicken, chipped beef and hot dogs as much as 40 degrees below the required temperature. …

“The Steel City Grill was cited for serving meat at lukewarm temperatures in 2007 and again in 2008.

The 2008 inspection also said the "cook does not know the proper cooking temperature for chicken."

As far as K-State football alumni in the three years I’ve been in Kansas, I prefer Zac Diles, who now plays for the Houston Texans. Unassuming, hard-hitting linebacker at Kansas State, just like I was in my own mind back in high school. We even wore the same number – #52.
 

Dipping Areas: The food on Top Chef sucked so bad no one got kicked off

Posted on by
Reply

PhD student Ben is cursing me. I know he’s just finished watching Top Chef. So did I. So he had to endure smug stock-fixer Martha Stewart, who is constantly touching her hair when cooking. And the pretentiousness of food porn that is Top Chef.

But give credit when deserved. Two weeks ago some of the chefs served lamb and used a food thermometer – they just didn’t say anything about proper temp or whether the thermometer helped decide whether the lamb was done.

But this week, a refrigerator door was left open overnight and a bunch of pork and duck was sent to the trashbin after hours at room temp.

Said one aspiring top cheffie:

“I cannot serve meat that is not at a safe temperature. I could kill or make very sick everybody in the room.”

Oh, and 15 years before Top Chef showed up, Toronto comedy fabs, Kids in the Hall, were skewering the fascination with all things food porn.
 

What do rare, medium and well-done mean? Especially with hamburgers?

Posted on by
1

Amy and I are at the University of Wisconsin in Madison — and I’m struck by how food safety things seem the same.

Amy got invited to speak at a French conference, and we didn’t know if we’d embark on the 10-hour drive this late in the pregnancy, but she said yes, so I tagged along.

Last time I was in Madison was 1997, when I gave a couple of talks at a BSE seminar for the Food Research Institute (FRI). A cursory look back and there were outbreaks involving petting zoos, unpastuerized apple cider, contaminated meat, and listeria. Once I get caught up on news you’ll see the outbreaks are still the same.

So we’ll keep looking for new messages and new media to reduce the number of sick people. As part of that, I had lunch with some FRI friends at The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co.

Under the sandwiches and burgers section, the menu states,

“We cook our hamburgers and steaks to temperature. Here is a general guideline:

Rare – a cool red center
Medium Rare – a warm red center
Medium – a pink center
Medium Well – a slight hint of pink
Well Done – no pink."

Veteran barfbloggers will know that color – especially with beef – is a lousy indicator of doneness, and an even worse indicator of safety. Over half of all burgers will turn brown before they reach a safe temperature of 160F.

So I told the waitress I wanted a burger, and, when she asked me how I wanted it, I said 160F.

She looked at me.

My guests started to chime in, “You have to understand, he’s an assh…” but I cut them off.

Your menu says, cooked to temperature. That is the temperature I want it.

She started to back away slowly …

OK, well-done, but tell me what the cook says when you ask for 160.

When the waitress returned with the burger, she looked at me, like, you really are an asshole, but did tell me the cook said, if he wants it 160F, he wants it well-done. Why didn’t he just ask for that?

Because temperature is the only way to tell. Stick it in – for safety.

Are you food safety savvy?

Posted on by
Reply

That’s what dietician and TV personality Leslie Beck asked yesterday in the Toronto Globe and Mail as she posed a pre-Canadian-Thanksgiving food safety quiz.

Leslie (right) didn’t do so good — and she’s the alleged teacher with the answer book.

That’s because she went to the Coles Notes version — the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education – for her answers instead of doing some digging.

“While food processing has been blamed for many of these (foodborne) outbreaks, the fact remains that the majority of food-safety problems occur at home. It is estimated that Canada has as many as 13 million cases of food poisoning every year, most of which could be prevented by safer handling of food at home.”

With at least 20 people dead from listeria in cold cuts in Canada, such a statement is not only factually inaccurate, it is condescendingly harsh.

“Fresh produce must always be washed – true or false?
Answer: True
Fresh fruit and vegetables should never be consumed without being washed under clean, running water – even prebagged, prewashed produce.”

Chirstine Bruhn, UC Davis, do you have something to add on this? Last I saw, scientists were saying don’t rewash the pre-washed greens for fear of contaminating clean product. Food safety is not simple and there are lots of disagreements – which is why these laundry lists of do’s and don’t’s, are fairly useless. People are interested in this stuff, give them some data, some information, some context, not just questionable marching orders.

“What temperature does your stuffed Thanksgiving turkey need to reach before it is safe to eat?
Answer: d) 82 C (180 F)
Use a digital meat thermometer and cook your turkey until the temperature at the thickest part of the breast or thigh is at least 82 C (180 F)."

No idea where this comes from, because Health Canada won’t let mere mortals peek at the wizard behind the green curtain who makes such pronouncements (watch the video below for how Health Canada derives at consumer recommendations for things like cooking temperatures). The recommended internal temperature in the U.S. is 165F. You can read how that number was determined at http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2007/10/articles/food-safety-communication/thawing-and-cooking-turkey/.

Both are better than the U.K.’s, “piping hot.”

“What is the safest way to thaw your Thanksgiving turkey?
Answer: d) In the fridge
 Never defrost a turkey at room temperature.”

Yes you can, and I will be this weekend. Check out Pete Snyder’s comments and our own work in this area.

We’ll be videotaping the turkey preparation for our annual Canadian-expat-in-Manhattan (Kansas) Thanksgiving feast on Monday.
 

Bad idea: using air conditioned hotel room for food storage

Posted on by
1

Pennsylvania state inspectors said the Holiday Inn on Greenfield Road, east of Lancaster, was using a guest room to store perishable food because a refrigerator in the restaurant had stopped working. ??????

Bill Chirdon, Director of Food Safety for the State Agriculture Department said,

“Yes. We did have an unusual situation."

The agency got a tip last week from an employee at the Holiday Inn on Greenfield Road, just off Route 30, east of Lancaster. ??????The employee said perishable food from the restaurant was being stored in a guest room because a commercial refrigerator broke.

Chirdon said that means the food was stored at around 65 degrees, not nearly cold enough to be safe. ??????He said the commercial refrigerator at the hotel was repaired and the poorly stored food was thrown out. He said follow-up inspections will be done.
 

Color is crap — no matter what the French government says

Posted on by
Reply

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.