Year-Old Frozen Hamburger Recalled Due To E. Coli
Yes, even freezing meat for 1 year will not dampen the power of e. coli. From the LA Times:
The meat was produced by Richwood Meat Co. on April 28, 2006, dated either "4-28-06" or "118-6," for the 118th day of the year, said Mike Wood, the company's president. Although the product was manufactured a year ago, the patties still may be present in freezers at home or in stores, officials said.Several kids picked up the contaminated meat at a Little League field in St. Helena, Calif and became ill with e. coli poisoning.The products were distributed to institutional food services, food distributors, discount grocers and retail outlets such as WinCo and Vons, officials said. The recalled meat also was shipped to Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.... The recalled products carry the brand names Fireriver, Ritz Food Service, Chef's Pride, Blackwood Farms, California Pacific Associates, C&C Distributing, Golbon and Richwood.
You know what this means. If your team has been storing burgers since last season, toss them. According to the USDA, frozen uncooked hamburger should only be stored 3 to 4 months in the freezer before it starts to taste awful anyway. —MEGHANN MARCO
Freezing and Food Safety [USDA]
Year-old meat recalled after E. coli cases [LA Times]
(Photo:Stuart Spivack)
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Comments:
According to the USDA, frozen uncooked hamburger should only be stored 3 to 4 months in the freezer before it starts to taste awful anyway.
So I'm NOT weird for being confused about a recall for year old meat.
I hope that I have not eaten anywhere that is using meat that is a year old. I don't care if it is frozen or not. :(
wouldn't freezing it kill the e. coli?
Or howabout cooking it at the proper temperature for that matter?
No freezing foods doesn't kill anything. All it does is retard or (depending on how cold it is) stop the spoiling process. The only way to kill the germs is to heat them up.
I remember one time when we bought a whole lot of meat from a specialty supplier (can't remember the name, sorry) and we had it in the freezer for a pretty long time without it going bad. I don't think it was quite a year but it was well over 3 months...
Mind you this stuff came vaccuum sealed.
For gods sake people! Buy fresh meat, package it properly and freeze it yourself!