HHS HealthBeat (July 23, 2010)

Getting the red out

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

If the meat is still red, you could wind up sick in bed. For instance, E. coli infections can result from mishandling or undercooking beef, as well as from other causes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborate to investigate illnesses from ground beef.  And with summer grilling season under way, nobody wants to be in their numbers. With that in mind, the CDC’s Melissa Viray has some advice on how to handle raw meat:

``People should always wash their hands before and after coming into contact with the meat. And with ground beef in particular, they should make sure to cook the beef all the way through, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.’’ (12 seconds)

This means the beef should be cooked until it’s not red.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011