Just read a USDA report that said a huge amount of ground beef gets recalled for E. coli

I was looking at some food safety stuff online the other day, and I found this report from the USDA's FSIS. I mean, I knew recalls happen, but the number for ground beef was way bigger than I thought. The report said ground beef makes up over 40% of all E. coli recalls for beef products. That really hit me because we grind a lot in-house at my shop. It made me double-check our whole process, from how we clean the grinder parts to the temps we keep everything at before grinding. I always focus on the big cuts, but this made me see the ground stuff as its own big risk. Has anyone else seen this and changed how they handle their grinder setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

rosek4416d ago

Yeah that report is pretty wild. Makes you rethink the whole grinder routine for sure.

gracea1916d ago

That part about cleaning the grinder parts got me. I wonder if the real weak spot is the stuff you can't see right away. Like, do you chill the meat before grinding, or just take it right from the fridge? If it's even a little warm, that's when bacteria can really take off. I started sticking the whole grinder head in the freezer for twenty minutes before I use it now.

the_andrew15d ago

What kind of cleaning solution do you use on the grinder parts after that freezer trick @gracea19 mentioned? I used to just use hot water and soap but switched to a sanitizer spray made for food surfaces. It adds an extra step but feels way safer, especially after seeing those numbers. That report really shows the grinder is a weak spot if you don't treat it right.