COOK YOUR MEAT

[Happytrails]

This e-coli scare just seems to keep going from bad to worse. The farm news at noon had a clip from a food safety guy asking consumers to check the recall and return or throw out any meat they have that is included in it. What is wrong with cooking it properly and eating it?
It should be a crime to throw food out when all it needs to be safe is to be COOKED!! We have boil water orders, how about a cook you meat order?
I am afraid that if all food has to be germ free to the consumer they might end up hungry more than not. HT

[ALLFARMER]

I heard the recall at one point was 600 tonnes of
beef. They should cook it dehydrate it and send it
to a poor country. Turn the pr bus around.

http://www.okanagangleaners.ca/food-
distribution.html

2 super b loads of food left the north peace
potatoes, carrots and such destined for the
okanagan. They make cut it and dehydrate it and
make soup packages then put them in barrels
then seacans. Destination being Haiti and similar
countries.

[Happytrails]

Right on AF. Wasting food is irresponsible.

[grassfarmer]

You guys should apply for the public relations job at
Lakeside -you'd fit right in.
"Come and get it....don't worry about our
contaminated products that might result in your
child's kidneys shutting down and potentially dying -
we think it should be OK if you cook it well enough."

"Here Brian I have a great idea - Lets export it to
some poor hungry people in the 3rd world - it'll be
good enough for them. Lets send it to sub-saharan
Africa maybe some poor people will see the XL sign
and want to come and be our slaves."

[ALLFARMER]

Someone's been laying in a patch of sweet grass.
Looking up at the clouds....high as a kite.

Common sense is not a common as it used to be.

News for the stupid people

- beef .... Ya it actually needs to be cooked before
you eat it.

[ASRG]

I wonder: If you cook manure enough is it safe to eat?
Maybe we could just by pass the meat and send them cooked manure?
If it isn't good enough for the Canadian consumer...is it okay for those third world little brown people?

[Happytrails]

ASRG. It isn't manure, its been contaminated with manure. All animals are full of e-coli including us. There is an accepted level of e-coli contamination. All we have here are unacceptable levels according to some arbitrary standard. There still is no danger if the meat is cooked properly. I can't believe that you think an empty stomach is better than eating food that is good if prepared properly. HT

[Burbert]

Ya know what, serve all yer meat from
now on, boiled, broiled, roasted,
toasted, microwaved, dried, salted,
irradiated, chipped, chopped, minced,
ground, then enjoy the manure covered
creation you've created. Actually, no
don't do it, don't buy use or consume XL
Food, or products. Lets make and
example of these clowns and put them
outta business. We buy from our local
butcher, never from the store meat
counters.

[grassfarmer]

Educate yourself Happytrails ecoli 0157:H7 is not
something that all animals including humans are full
of. It's an uncommon strain that is very dangerous to
humans.

[Happytrails]

No doubt about it GF. Hence the subject of this thread. All beef has some ecoli even yours. It is not a problem if it is COOKED!

[grassfarmer]

To go back to your original post where you posed the
question
"What is wrong with cooking it properly and eating
it?"
Answer - the risk is just too high - this is a very
serious illness which you don't seem to grasp. Maybe
if it was your child or grand child on kidney dialyses
the reality might hit home. As food suppliers we must
err on the side of caution in instances like this. How
can we be sure that every household has an accurate
thermometer and knows how to use it? how can we
be sure that every piece of meat is the same
temperature as the piece the thermometer was stuck
in? You cannot knowingly sell a product that is
contaminated with a potentially deadly ecoli strain
and tell they consumer "it'll be OK if you cook it well
enough". The risk is just too high.

[ASRG]

Happytrails: Sorry I was trying to be a smart ass.
As grassfarmer says though....this is a pretty bad germ and we can't really take the chance on some kid getting killed if it wasn't cooked properly.
I also understand what you are saying about having it cooked properly under supervision and distributed as a pre cooked product. Who would pay for that?

It would also make sense to cook it and use it in pet food? Unfortunately I don't think they can do that anymore due to the last government screwup, BSE?

[tman]

If you have to cook your meat to a crisp to make it safe, then it really shouldn't be food. Another reason why the beef industry is in the shitter.

[kato]

Some advice from a cook.

It's not just cooking the meat properly that's needed. You also have to be careful that anything you are going to eat raw, like salad, or even the onions for the burger, doesn't EVER touch anything that's come into contact with the raw meat. It's called cross-contamination.

Nowadays most people don't have the same kind of day to day kitchen experience as our mothers and grandmothers had. They eat a lot of pre-packaged and instant stuff, and just don't work with things like raw meat every day. It's scarey how many of the younger generation have not been taught how to properly prepare and handle food.

But it's not just e-coli that is prevented by proper handling and cooking. It's also salmonella, which can also be pretty nasty.

That being said, these handling practices are meant as a second line of defense against food borne illness. The first line of defense is to have standards that do whatever possible to prevent having to rely on them to be the only safety measure in place.

If someone sells you meat, you want to be assured that they have done the best they can to make sure it's safe. You sure don't want to buy meat from someone who figures close is good enough.

[Happytrails]

tman. You only have to cook meat normally to kill all bacteria. It isn't rocket science and is commonly done.

Good points Kato. For those interested the worst e.coli epidemic so far was in Germany in 2011. Killed 73 people and sickened over 3000. The source? An organic vegetable farm. With life comes some risks.