Food-Borne Illness Easy to Prevent at Home

BOZEMAN -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are 20,000 illnesses and 400 deaths each year from E. coli 0157. The young, the old and people with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable.

Here's how to protect yourself and your family when handling and preparing ground meat and poultry. These tips are from Lynn Paul, MSU Extension Service food and nutrition specialist:

• Place ground meat and poultry in the refrigerator or freezer immediately. Defrost frozen ground meat in the refrigerator. Use or freeze uncooked meat within one to two days. Use or freeze cooked meat stored in the refrigerator within three to four days.
• Before you take a bite of hamburger, make sure it is brown in the middle with no pink juices.
• At a fast-food shop or restaurant, send back hamburgers that are pink.
• At home, cook hamburgers to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer.
• Wash hands, utensils and work areas with hot soapy water after contact with raw hamburger meat to keep bacteria from spreading.
• Wash hands after using the bathroom or diapering a child.

See also Microbiologists Invent Fast Test for Dangerous E. coli and Scientists Not Sure How "Good" Microbes Go "Bad"

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