Hold that burger

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

Federal health officials recalled 18.6 million pounds of ground beef after contaminated meat made 16 Coloradans sick. The government last week urged anyone who bought hamburger meat processed this summer by the ConAgra Foods plant in Greeley, Colo., to return it to the store or throw it out. Officials discovered traces of E. coli bacteria in samples before issuing the recall, the second-largest in U.S. history. Cooking the meat to 160 degrees kills the bacteria, so much of the meat may have been safely eaten. Dr. Elsa Murano, undersecretary for food safety, said she had “no idea how much product is still in consumers’ hands.”