irradiated hamburger ?

lowercasebill

i prefer my beef medium raw[/i]. so i no longer make bugers do to the bacteria risk,
is irradiated eat safer to eat at rare ??? or does the irradiation just extend the shelf life???
tia
bill

stike

why not grind your own beef?

much of the risk of commercially ground beef is the sheer volume of beef that the grinder at your grocery store sees pass through it. if the machine isn't cleaned well and regularly, the bacteria can multiply and get deposied on the next batch. and so on. i worked in a butcher shop at a grocery store, i don't have nmuch faith in the kids behind the counter. maybe the manager, sure, but still...

buying a brisket and grinding it at home vastly reduces the risk, though it doesn't eliminate it.

irradiation is intended to reduce the bacteria too which , after all, is one of the things they mean by "extending shelf-life". a lot of prepacked hamberuger is sold in clear-topped packages (with white-ribbed plastic tubs). that is ground at a central plant and the "air" in the package is carbon monoxide. keeps the meat red longer. part of "shelf-life" is really "sales life". if it stays red longer, it will sell longer.

safety and saleability are two parts of the shelf-life equation...

fishlessman

i believe its safer, but they will still tell you to cook to an internal of 160. i grind my own or have the butcher near me grind it to order, i dont buy much burger from the chainstores

Little Steven

Stike,

That makes sense. I had a package of ground beef last week that was bright red outside and brown in the middle. Could not figure that out.

Steve

stike

turns red from the air.

the meat will turn red whether there's carbon monoxice present or not (from the oxygen in the air). the carbon monoxide, though fixes it, so it stays red much longer rather than eventually browning. brown meat inside isn't an indication of freshness. and the red outside really isn't either, necessarily.

cut a fresh roast in half and it'll be purple. turns red when the air gets to it. but buyers at a grocery store go by color. they started treating with carbon monoxide to extend the redness to WEEKS. meat can still be safe and fresh and BROWN. but it won't sell.

for my money, best meat in the case is the brown steak on sale for $2 a pound because it isn't pretty any more

Little Steven

Yeah, I buy the "reduced for quick sale" beef all the time cause of what you have posted in the past. Is it carbon monoxide or dioxide?

Steve

Beli

Great advise Stike . Thanks

Beli

Hey Steve....just a brief Hello....and to wish you a safe trip down to QRO, pitty you 're not stopping here...but let me know if your plans allow for it.

---

Beli

Great advise Stike . Thanks

stike

good old regular air will turn hamburger red on the outside. but. some packagers have been adding carbon MON-oxide into the containers to 'fix' the red where it is. otherwise it'll continue to oxidize. it rusts, essentially, in the presence of oxygen. turns brown. can't continue to do that in the presence of CO.

it will permit the hamburger to stay red literally for weeks.

Jersey Doug

bill wrote:

i prefer my beef medium raw[/i]. so i no longer make bugers do to the bacteria risk, is irradiated eat safer to eat at rare ??? or does the irradiation just extend the shelf life???l

Wegmans says that their irradiated ground beef is safer when cooked to less than the 160º that the FDA recommends.

Little Steven

Beli,

I am going next week. The trip may be delayed by a week if my customer is not ready. I hope it is not much hotter than it is here. 36* with high humidity.

Steve

The Naked Whiz

In addition to what Stike said, you can also make acceptable hamburger at home with nothing more than a food processor. I forget the name of the episode, but Alton Brown showed how to do it in one of his shows. As I recall, he processed cubes of chuck (to get the fat) and cubes of top sirloin. He then mixed them together and made the patties.

Unknown

I raise my own beef and have a "LOW VOLUME" USDA inspected slaughter house process

Radiated beef is to kill the e-coli bacteria which is a NATURALLY occurring bacteria in the lower intestines of the bovine. The meat becomes tainted if the lower intestine is "opened" in procssing and fecal matter comes in contact with the carcass. A careful and quality slaughter house can can process the animal without "opening" any of those organs.

I avoid radiated beef like the plague .....Fecal Matter radiated or not is still fecal matter my .02

I am new to this forum as I am a new "EGGHEAD"

lowercasebill

thanks for all the advice. i have my mom's antique , clamp to the table, meat grinderand a food processor . so i will try that and i shop at wegman's so this weekend will be hambugers on the egg.
thanks,
bill

Cecil

Welcome, Rick.
Where are you?

Walt

Unknown

Tennessee - Franklin South of Nashville

We are suffering in the Heat right now but I am not complaining I would rather sweat than shiver

Get my Egg for Father's Day So this week-end is the Beginning of my Egg-sperience

However I am not new to smoking built my last from 2k Brick I will join Forum and post pics

Pyro

Welcome Rick, You will find the people here always willing to help. Good folks and no trolls! I do however support buying irradiated foods. You have your own slaughter house and can be sure that the processing is done correctly. Most of us have to go to the local supermarket to buy our meats. We rely on the USDA and the honesty/competence of our store butchers. Irradiation is just another method to improve food safety. Irradiation is not just for beef, it may be used for all meat and poultry, vegetables, fruits, flour, etc. I wish someone had been irradiating tomatoes. This is what the USDA says about irradiation:




Are irradiated foods safe to eat?
Yes. Just as pasteurization makes milk safer, irradiation makes meat and poultry safer by reducing the numbers of harmful bacteria and parasites. Irradiation is an important food safety tool in fighting foodborne illness.

FDA and other public health agencies worldwide have evaluated the safety of irradiation over the last 50 years and found it to be safe. Irradiation has been endorsed by the American Medical Association and the United Nations' World Health Organization.

In 37 countries, more than 40 food products are irradiated. In some European countries, irradiation has been in use for decades.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Irradiation_and_Food_Safety/index.asp

Cecil

I'm in Green Hills, welcome.

Walt