To Safe Handling of Ground Meat and Poultry
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Cook it! One special note on color: Fresh ground Cooking is the final and most critical step in beef goes through a number of color A Consumer Guide ensuring safety. Bacteria are found on the changes during its shelf life. Look for outside of meat and poultry — the ground beef with a bright red color, but inside is sterile. But when ground, the don’t be surprised if the center appears outside is mixed into the inside. For brown. This color difference is due to these reasons, ground products must be exposure to oxygen, which causes cooked thoroughly. That’s why hamburgers naturally brown ground beef to turn red. must be cooked until well done. Extended exposure to air, however, reduces the normal shelf life of the When preparing ground meat and poultry product. Color changes are normal, and like hamburgers and turkey burgers, use ground beef remains wholesome and safe products by the “use by” date on the to eat within one to two days of purchase. package. Cook them to the following internal temperatures: Some irradiated products are available in the market today. o Ground beef or pork 160 F They are indicated by a label o Ground poultry 165 F on the package that says to Safe Handling of All leftovers 165 o F “treated with irradiation.” These products have been treated with energy that Ground Meat and Poultry These temperatures should destroys harmful bacteria like E. coli be validated using a digital O157:H7 and Salmonella, while allowing thermometer, available in most harmless, natural bacteria to remain. In kitchen supply stores. These this way, the food is not sterilized, which thermometers must be inserted and maintains the traditional fresh and delicious removed in 10 to 15 seconds to get a taste consumers enjoy. While irradiation temperature reading; they may not be left offers a remarkably high margin of safety, in during cooking. Oven proof consumers are urged to cook irradiated thermometers — like the ones inserted products just as they would non-irradiated into roasts — may, however, remain in products: thoroughly. Cool it! during cooking. Store it! New research has shown that color is NOT Clean it! a reliable indicator of doneness; a burger that’s brown in the middle is not Foundation Separate it! 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW • 12th Floor • Washington, DC 20036 necessarily cooked thoroughly. Only a www.amif.org Cook it! thermometer can provide reliable information. Enjoy! U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: 1-800-535-4555 Safe Handling of Ground Meat and Poultry Cool it! Clean it! Ground meat and poultry are more Keep everything clean — hands, perishable than most foods. In the danger untensils, counters, cutting boards and zone between 40 degrees F and 140 sinks — to ensure that food stays safe. Safe Handling of degrees F, bacteria can multiply rapidly. • Always wash hands thoroughly in hot, • When shopping, put meat and poultry in Ground Meat and Poultry soapy water before and after preparing your cart last. foods and handling raw meat or poultry. • Choose products that are cold and • Wash utensils that have touched raw Ground beef, pork and poultry are tightly wrapped. among the most popular choices in the meat or poultry with hot, soapy water. meat and poultry case. New meat and • Transport meat and poultry home from • Wash counters, cutting boards and poultry processing technologies have the store quickly and refrigerate or other surfaces raw meat or poultry have reduced harmful bacteria on these freeze immediately. products to remarkably low levels, touched. according to USDA data. • If your trip home will take more than an • Keep the inside of your refrigerator clean hour, bring along a cooler to keep meat by washing it inside and out every month. However, no fresh product — from and poultry cold. burgers to broccoli — is bacteria free. And because you can’t see, smell or • Keep refrigerator set at 40 degrees F or Separate it! taste bacteria, it’s always safest to below and freezers set at zero degrees Cross-contaminating raw and cooked foods assume that harmful bacteria may be or below. can cause a major kitchen calamity. Take present and then handle and cook the following preventive steps: • Defrost in the refrigerator or microwave accordingly. • DO NOT let raw meat and poultry juices to prevent bacterial growth. touch ready-to-eat foods. By following a few simple rules, you can ensure that meat and poultry are safe Store it! • DO NOT put cooked foods on a plate that held raw beef or poultry. — all the way to the table. • The shelf life for uncooked ground meat and poultry is one to two days; • DO NOT pour marinade that touched raw three to four days once cooked. meat and poultry over cooked meat and poultry. • In a freezer set at zero degrees or less, uncooked meat and poultry may be • Wash cutting boards between uses with hot soapy water or consider buying two stored for three to four months. Cooked cutting boards — one for fruits and meat and poultry may be stored for up vegetables and one for meat, poultry to four months. and seafood..