The Foster Farms salmonella outbreak this month has underscored the importance of cooking and handling poultry properly. Now attention is turning to beef because of a little-known practice called mechanical tenderization.
To soften a cheaper grade of beef, producers machine-puncture meat with a row of needles or blades that break up tough muscle fibers. The punctures are too small to recognize with the naked eye.
While the process can tenderize the toughest cuts, it raises the risk of food-borne illness because it can potentially deliver bacteria deep into the center of the beef where it’s harder to cook off.
Since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported five outbreaks of potentially fatal E. coli 0157:57 due to mechanically tenderized beef.
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