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Extra labor going into holiday burgers after E. coli scare
August 30, 1997
Web posted at: 7:33 p.m. EDT (2333 GMT)From Correspondent Cynthia Tornquist
NEW YORK (CNN) -- As Americans fire up their outdoor grills for the traditional Labor Day cookout, meat industry analysts are checking out the family menus. The nation's largest ground beef recall was just a week ago. How many hamburgers will be plopped onto the nation's grills?
From New York to San Francisco, Americans are expected to down nearly 95 million burgers this holiday weekend, according to the American Meat Institute.
But hamburger's reputation has been burned following the recent outbreak of E. coli contamination in Colorado in which more than a dozen people became ill.
"I'm afraid my family might get sick. I'm making hot dogs, chicken and steak," said one Labor Day weekend cook.
But among many households, the pro-hamburger vote is expected to prevail, despite the E. coli scare.
"This is America. How can you have a picnic without a hamburger?" said one woman.
Safe burger preparation
- Take meat products straight home from the grocery store and refrigerate them within half an hour
- Cook burgers to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius)
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. Meat color isn't a reliable indicator.
- Always wash hands and utensils with hot soapy water before and after touching raw meat.
- Put cooked burgers on a clean plate -- not the plate the raw burgers were on.
The E. coli outbreak was traced to a Hudson Foods processing plant in Columbus, Nebraska. Some 25 million pounds of ground beef from that plant were recalled August 21.
For at least one New York packing company, the recall has translated into fewer sales of meat products for hamburger.
"We see a little decline in the hamburger business because of the scare out West," said meat processor Sam Farella. "But I think that will pass."
While some shoppers have had second thoughts about buying beef patties at the supermarket, there has been little effect on the nation's butcher shops.
"We make our hamburger meat fresh several times a day, and people know us as a reliable source," said butcher Ralph Schaller.
In fact, since the recall, some people say they are more inclined to visit the butcher's shop than the grocer's meat section.
"I would not just go, walk into a store where I've never been and say, I want a hamburger, and not know where it comes from and how it's handled," one woman said as she placed her order at the butcher's.
The meat recall also has heightened consumers' awareness about how to safely cook meat.
"I'm making sure that it's completely cooked, and that when I prepare the meat, I make sure nothing else gets contaminated by it," said one woman. "I'm taking precautions."
Another hamburger chef in San Francisco said he also takes precautions against E. coli. "We have hot fires going all the time, and we have a warmer that we keep them in until they hit the steam table."
Many say they will take the extra effort to serve hamburgers, because they are not about to celebrate the holiday without one of America's favorite foods.
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Related stories:
- Burger King pulls Hudson burgers off grills - August 25, 1997
- Hamburger, meat loaf lovers out of luck at some restaurants - August 22, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- USDA's Home Page
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Home Page
- Safe Tables Our Priority (STOP)
- FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
- The E. coli Index
- E. coli Primer
- E. coli Information Page
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