HNS Series

Kansas markets inspected

Safe temperature at meat counter is 36 to 38 degrees

Dec. 14, 2006
Jodie Garcia
Ottawa Herald

Tips for safe meat handling

Food-borne illnesses are blamed for about 5,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 76 million Americans are sickened by food -- 300,000 seriously enough to be hospitalized.

The keys to avoiding food-borne illnesses are cleanliness, handling and cooking food properly and cooling it quickly when it's refrigerated, health officials say.

Jean Rowland, family and consumer sciences agent with Kansas State University's Extension Service, offers these tips on proper handling of meat:

• Wash hands with hot, sudsy water before and after handling raw meat.

• Wash all surfaces that come in contact with raw meat and its juices with hot, sudsy water. Surfaces may be sanitized with a water and bleach solution after being cleaned. Cutting boards should be cleaned and sanitized.

• Cook ground meat to at least 160 degrees, testing this with a metal meat thermometer. Solid meat, such as roasts or steaks, should be cooked to a temperature of 145 to 160 degrees. If microwaving an entree, let the meat stand a few minutes before checking the temperature.

• Meat should not sit outside of refrigeration for more than two hours. This includes thawing (it's best to thaw in the refrigerator), preparation and time before the dish is served or leftovers are refrigerated.

• Don't keep ground hamburger in the refrigerator for more than one or two days before cooking. Solid cuts may be held three to five days in the refrigerator. Check the "sell-by" dates on meat packages, which also have safe-handling instructions.

• If thawing meat in the refrigerator, don't let package drippings come in contact with other food.

• Cool cooked meat quickly in the refrigerator. If there is a big pot of chili, for example, divide the leftovers in several containers to speed cooling.

Wally Leecy of Ottawa doesn't trust the wrapped meat he regularly buys.

"You don't know how long it's been packaged," he said.

Leecy is among consumers who wonder about the safety of beef, which travels a complex and potentially hazardous journey from packing plant to consumer.

A critical stop on that journey is the supermarket meat counter where, above all, meat safety requires a temperature of 36 to 38 degrees, said Gary Jones, owner of the Country Mart store in Ottawa.

Jones helped develop national sanitation guidelines for grocery stores as part of a team with the Food Marketing Institute, the retail grocery industry's main trade group.

Annual inspections

In Kansas, inspectors from the Kansas Department of Agriculture annually inspect meat markets.

Mark Heim, a compliance officer for the department, said inspectors look first to see that proper temperatures are maintained and that general sanitation is appropriate.

When violations are found, inspectors work with stores to correct the problem immediately, Heim said. Follow-up inspections sometimes are made, and serious problems might lead to an administrative review and suspension of license.

Shirley Kornhaus, an Ottawa resident interviewed recently while shopping for meat, said she typically doesn't think about meat safety.

She did, however, say she opposes the practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide gas.

That procedure is used to extend the shelf life of meat, help it retain its red color and slightly improve flavor, said Kelly Epperson, a spokeswoman for HAC, which owns Food 4 Less, Price Chopper and other stores in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Epperson said his company doesn't gas-treat its meat, although the practice has the approval of the federal Department of Agriculture.

Jones advises shoppers to pay attention to expiration dates and color before tossing a package of meat into their cart.

"Greenish tint worries me," he said, adding that it could signal a sanitation problem.

Partially brown meat, on the other hand, probably isn't a serious issue despite many consumers' conceptions that fresh meat should be ruby red.

"They look at meat and they want it to be red because it's supposed to be red meat," said Matt Yoder, assistant manager of Yoder Meats, a processing plant and retail store south of Hutchinson.