Ground Beef & E. Coli - Safe Handling and Safe Food Dehydrator Use

Ground beef is particularly vulnerable to harboring the E. Coli pathogen. Ground beef, or hamburger meat, is not a single cut of beef. Indeed, per a recent New York Times article, ground beef is often; a) a mixture of different grades of meat from the same cow, including "meat trimmings" which can include a very high percentage of fat, b) meat from different cows and c) meat sourced from different slaughterhouses. It is this very multi-sourced mixture of ground beef that makes the meat susceptible to E. Coli.

For example; different slaughterhouses follow varied levels of food safety, the cuts of meat that go into ground beef are cuts of lesser quality that are nearer the hide and extremities of the cow and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is stretched thin and allows a lot of self policing by the meat processing companies. Lastly, per the New York Times, "Unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. Coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies. Slaughterhouses fear that one grinder’s discovery of E. Coli will set off a recall of ingredients they sold to others."

How do you protect yourself against E. Coli in ground beef?

-Stay away from frozen or prepackaged ground beef
-Buy ground beef that is freshly ground at your market
-Thoroughly cook the ground beef
-Wash and sterilize all counter areas, utensils, cookware and dishes before and after use

If you are making beef jerky, the USDA recommends, heating the meat to 160 degrees+ Fahrenheit, before placing the meat in the food dehydrator, in order to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present in the meat. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the meat. After preheating the meat, place the meat in the food dehydrator and dry until the beef jerky is done.

The USDA references a study which emphasizes the importance of preheating ground beef before drying in a food dehydrator. Per the USDA study "For ground beef jerky prepared at home, safety concerns related to E. Coli are minimized if the meat is precooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit prior to drying."