Secret Process Makes Beef Unsafe

The reason it is safe to cook beef that is pink on the inside is that the bacteria on the beef is on the outside. So when you cook the beef to an internal temperature of 145 F even though the inside is pink any bacteria on the outside is dead. This process which the meat industry is keeping secret from individual consumers and restaurants  puts the bacteria on the inside the meat. It is called mechanically tenderizing.

They run the beef through a machine that punctures the beef with blades or needles to tenderize the beef. The blades and needles are so small that you can’t visually tell that the meat has been tenderized.. Over a third of the companies that produce beef products use mechanical tenderizing. It is estimated that 50 million pounds of beef is treated every year. Sence Consumers are willing to pay 10% more for tender beef the meat industry makes an extra 170 million dollars each year by tenderizing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  has documented 174 illnesses and one death from E coli from mechanical between 2003 and 2009. The real number of illnesses is much greater because 10 to 25 % of E coli cases go unreported by state and local officials.

Cosco is one of the few retailers that does label beef and lets their customers know that the beef should be cooked to 160 f . Mechanically tenderized beef can be labeled Organic. Your Only Protection Is to cook your meat to 160 degrees and let the meat set for several minutes before eating to make sure there are no cool spots.   

Canada already has rules in place to label mechanically tenderized beef The US government has been sitting on a requirement to label mechanically tenderized beef for a year.

. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service published the rule with its proposed regulations on the agency’s website  and it will run soon on the Federal Register. After that, the public has 60 days to comment. There plan is to phase-in the rule with it fully effective by 1/1/2016. It might be a good time to let them know what they think but in the meantime stay away from rare beef.