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E Coli & Ground Beef
Ecoli is acquired by eating food containing the bacteria, but young children, the
elderly, and those with compromised immune systems are the most severely affected.
Symptoms usually appear three days after exposure, with a range of one to nine days.
Symptoms include little or no fever, diarrhea, blood in the stool, or no symptoms at all.
Food handling tips to prevent ecoli:
- Ground beef should be frozen or refrigerated at 45 degrees or less as soon as
possible after purchase, and kept refrigerated until used.
- Ground beef should be packaged and stored so that juices do not drip onto other
foods.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before and after handling raw
meat.
- Never reuse packaging materials.
- Don't recontaminate meat by placing cooked meat on the same platter or surface that
held raw meat, or by using utensils contaminated by raw meat.
- Utensils, dishes, and surfaces which come in contact with raw meat should be
washed with soap and water before they are used again.
Cooking tips:
- Thoroughly cook ground beef until there is no pink in the middle and juices run clear.
- Cook to 155 degrees or above. Do not cook ground beef in microwave because it may
cook unevenly.
- Discard any cooked hamburger left at room temperature for more than two hours.
- After cooking, ground beef can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 days or frozen for
up to 3 months.
Reheating:
-Reheat fully cooked ground beef and hamburger patties to 165 degrees or above.
(Source: Utah Health Dept.)
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