Burgers

Posted by Judith Hilton on August 2nd 2007 in Science, safety and health

Judging by this week's weather in London, summer finally seems to have arrived, and with it, one can safely assume, the sparking up of countless barbecues across the land.

This is timely - our independent scientific advisory committee on microbiological safety of food (the ACMSF) has been reviewing the Agency's advice about cooking burgers and its final report has just been published.

UK Government advice about cooking burgers is more stringent than in the US and we were asked to consider whether our advice was still appropriate, bearing in mind claims the cooking times and temperatures recommended in the UK may lead to overcooking and deterioration in the quality of some products.

Mindful of this, but also of the fact that undercooked burgers can harbour harmful food bugs such as E. coli O157, which can cause food poisoning and kidney failure, and that the advice had not been expertly reviewed since 1998, we asked the ACMSF to review what we were saying, which is that burgers should be cooked to 70°C for 2 minutes or equivalent. In other words, until burgers are piping hot throughout,  there are no pink bits and the juices run clear.

The committee considered the epidemiology of E. coli O157, and information about the contamination of carcasses, meat and meat products by the organism.

It then considered evidence about the time-temperature combinations needed to destroy the organism, which depend upon the number of bacteria present, and developed a model to help deal with the variability of the system.

Based on this, the committee recommends that Agency advice stays as it is because this amount of cooking is necessary to provide a wide enough safety margin to minimises the risk of food poisoning.  

At the same time, the committee recognised that other time/temperature combinations should not be ruled out and has therefore recommended that the Agency develops guidance on appropriate use of time/temperature controls for industry and enforcement officers. We'll be taking this forward. E. coli outbreaks, like other foodborne pathogens, can have devastating consequences.

Check out our food poisoning advice, and have your say on the blog.

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Cooking burgers

Posted by Chris. Beesley-Reynolds (not verified) on 23/09/2007 - 21:23

I read Dr Powell's comments with interest, he notes our (the UK's) lack of use of probes to check temperatures, our major fast food outlets have checks before opening for business and at every shift change as part of their H.A.C.C.P. plan. Also all our burgers are cooked and consumers can not buy a rare or medium burger as I understand is the situation in Canada and the States, which is one of the ways we protect consumers rather than standing for the nonsense of consumer choice as they do not always no best.

Regards

Chris. Beesley-Reynolds MRIPH

coking hamburgers

Posted by Dr. Douglas Powell (not verified) on 16/08/2007 - 01:13

Thanks for your comments. But they seem incomplete, especially when you are claiming that U.K. standards are more stringent than U.S. (and I'm Canadian so find the jingoism peculiar]).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture seems to have covered much of the basics in this rather dated release,
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Color_of_Cooked_Ground_Beef/index.asp

And while use of thermometers may be low in the U.K. and elsewhere, isn't it the responsibility of government agencies to produce evidence-based material, and even promote best practices? Like using meat thermometers?

Dr. Douglas Powell
associate professor
scientific director
International Food Safety Network (iFSN)
dept. diagnostic medicine/pathobiology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS
66506
cell: 785-317-0560
fax: 785-532-4039
dpowell@ksu.edu
http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu

Cooking hamburgers

Posted by Judith Hilton on 07/08/2007 - 15:54

Thanks for your comments, Douglas.

The stringency relates to the time-temperature combinations whereby US guidance allows combinations that will provide a lower log reduction that 70 degrees for two minutes.

The reason we don't mention temperature probes during cooking is that they're not commonly used in the home over here.

However, the ACMSF report recomments that as well as checking visual appearance, consumers and caterers should be encouraged to use temperature probes to check whether burgers are fully cooked, so we'll be looking at that recommendation in more detail.

Sorry you don't find the reference to juices running clear helpful. It's there as an additional safety check, alongside cooker manufacturer' instructions. These instructions are designed to achieve a minimum temperature of 70 degrees C for two minutes or equivalent.

cooking hamburgers

Posted by Douglas Powell (not verified) on 02/08/2007 - 14:44

Why is the U.K. advice considered more stringent that the U.S.? Especially when the U.K. makes no mention of using meat thermometers and instead relies on the tremendously misleading, cook until the juices run clear?

Dr. Douglas Powell
associate professor
scientific director
International Food Safety Network (iFSN)
dept. diagnostic medicine/pathobiology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS
66506
cell: 785-317-0560
fax: 785-532-4039
dpowell@ksu.edu
http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu