More then 300,000 pounds of beef have been recalled by a Colorado meat company because an E. coli infection may be responsible for causing 18 -- that's right, eighteen -- different illnesses. It's an expansion of a June 24 recall.
If you're anywhere in the world and have got beef from the JBS-Swift Beef Co., produced on April 21, don't eat it unless you want your dinner to potentially include a postprandial evening of bloody diarrhea, dehydration and even kidney failure.
But let's not forget that there are things everyone should be taking to make sure that Independence Day B-B-Q doesn't end with a line for the toilet ...
- Use a food thermometer to check internal temperatures, especially if you're smoking or slow-cooking.
- Beef, veal, lamb steaks: 145 F
- Pork; ground beef, veal or lamb: 160 F
- All poultry: 165 F
- Thaw meats before smoking, and don't defrost at room temperature.
- Marinate in the fridge.
- Use clean platters, tongs, etc., for cooked food; never reuse the utensils and plates used for raw meat.
- Refrigerate right away, and throw out anything that was out more than two hours (one hour if it's over 90 F out).
If you've got more questions about the beef recall, you can call 1-800-685-6328, or go to the Food Safety and Inspection Service's "virtual representative," but if you're more up-to-date technologically, you may want to sign up for the USDA's food-safety Twitter updates.
by Michael Y. Park
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