Tests from Consumers Reports show that beef cooked under 160 degrees (rare, medium rare) can make you sick. At least 28% of Americans eat undercooked meat. All meat contains bacteria, including chicken, pork and turkey but these meats are rarely undercooked. Ground beef appears to be much more tainted then steaks. The problem with ground beef is that bacteria gets inside of the meat during processing as opposed to steaks where the bacteria remain on the surface-So when cooked, the outside gets hot enough to kill the bugs whereas in ground beef, bacteria remain alive on the inside if not cooked long enough. Another problem is that your burger may not be 100% beef, but rather from multiple animals of different species.

Consumer Reports bought 458 pounds of ground beef and found deadly bacteria in every sample!

Most of the beef in the US is processed by just 4 companies, so if the food gets contaminates, large outbreaks could occur.

There are 3 take home messages”

1.       Consider all beef to be contaminated

2.       Only  eat meat that is 160 degrees internally (at least medium)

3.       Try to buy grass fed organic meat if possible since these appear to be healthier to eat.