Cooking to kill E. coli

The answer is b, cook meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

The strain of E. coli called E. coli O157:H7 can cause bloody diarrhea, kidney problems, and can even lead to death, especially among children and the elderly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. Most of the time, the infections are traced back to eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef.

How hot do you need to cook ground beef in order to kill the bacteria? To 160 degrees, say food safety experts. Bacteria can survive even after that meat has turned brown, so to be safe it's a good idea to use a digital meat thermometer to make sure that the meat, especially in the thickest part of a hamburger, has been heated to at least 160 degrees. If you don't have a meat thermometer, make sure the burgers are not pink in the middle.

CDC experts recommend that undercooked restaurant hamburgers be sent back for more cooking -- and you may want to ask for a new bun and a clean plate, too.

Resources

Get more E. coli facts from the CDC Web site.

August 10, 2002