The meat industry has made great strides over the past decade in reducing E.
coli-related illnesses, says AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle, who
appeared on Good Morning America today.
The segment, which focused on E. coli in ground beef, was the first in a
three-part series, Whats in Your Food.
“You have to recall we are dealing with a fresh product,” Boyle said. “But as we
have tried to comply with zero-tolerance standards, weve made enormous progress
over the last 10 years.”
During the segment, six packages of 100 percent ground beef patties purchased at
major supermarket chains in Seattle were taken to IEH Laboratories, one of the
meat industrys largest independent testing labs. Lab tests reported that meat
from at least four cows had been found in each hamburger patty tested.
Boyle then proceeded to explain the reason that hamburger often contains meat
from multiple sources.
“Our ground beef supply is a combination of different types of meat in
proportion to certain levels of fat,” Boyle said. “So one has to have multiple
sources of the raw material to make the finished product that Americans enjoy so
much.”
Also appearing in the segment was Elizabeth Hagan, chief medical officer with
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) who said the key to
preventing E. coli-related illness is in the cooking.
“The safest way to ensure that your meat is properly cooked is to use a meat
thermometer,” Hagen said.
To view the segment in its entirety, click here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/meat-safe-ecoli-dr-richard-besser-tips/story?id=9029942
Source:
American Meat Institute