There is no single way to cook a meatball. Chefs and consumers prepare them with different meats, such as beef, pork, and veal; refrigerate or freeze them; use different cooking times and temperatures; and cook them in different appliances, such as a conventional oven or a deep-fryer. This makes coming up with a standard set of meatball cooking times and temperatures a major challenge.
Undercooked meatballs are a potential source of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Each year, STEC bacteria cause an estimated 265,000 illnesses, 3,600 hospitalizations, and 30 deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. STEC illnesses also cost an estimated $300 million in healthcare, lost wages, food recalls, and other expenses.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service guidelines specify that ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 ?F to minimize health risks from STEC. But not all cooks are going to check the temperature of their meatballs. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, have developed some practical methods for cooking meatballs at home, in restaurants, or in commercial or institutional kitchens.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: USDA AgResearch Magazine
