Before you bite into that juicy hamburger, think pink. If it's pink, don't eat it.
That's the best defense against a potentially deadly food poisoning spread through undercooked meat, said Charlotte Brennand, Utah State University Extension food safety specialist.The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Washington State Department of Public Health to investigate the cause of an outbreak of food-borne illness in Washington.
"We have been told there are at least 100 suspected cases of food-borne illness," said Jill Hol-lingsworth, assistant to the administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The outbreak was linked to the bacterium E. coli 0157:H7 in undercooked ground beef patties eaten at Jack-in-the-Box restaurants.
Brennand said symptoms of this bacterium include bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, urinary tract infections and kidney failures.
Despite the potential seriousness of being infected by the bacterium, it is generally uncommon. Most important, it is easily destroyed by thoroughly cooking meat, she said.
Brennand said this bacterium is associated with bovines - particularly beef, raw milk and even buffalo. It can, however, be carried in human feces.
Because the bacterium remains on the outside of meat, steak is not affected by it unless it has been poked or jabbed. The meat primarily affected is ground beef such as hamburger and cube steaks, she said.
That makes undercooked hamburgers, whether they come from a fast-food restaurant or from your own kitchen, equally suspect.
She emphasized the threat of food poisoning does not mean you have to give up fast-food burgers. It only means taking the same precautions you would at home: looking inside the meat patty before biting into it. If there is any pinkness, send it back.
When preparing hamburger at home, Brennand said it is not only important to thoroughly cook the meat but to handle it properly to avoid cross-contamination. After handling raw hamburger, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly.