Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

970609 Cooling Meat Before Freezing Helps Fight E. coli Contamination

University of Wisconsin scientists say that varying the temperatures for storing ground beef can reduce levels of deadly bacteria better than immediately freezing the meat solid.

Researchers reported how temperature affects the E. coli bacterial species, which has caused fatal outbreaks of food poisoning. In comparison tests, storing meat at 59 degrees for about 5 hours and then freezing it at 28 degrees killed 99.9% of the O157:H7 strain of E. coli. Meat that went into the freezer without a cooling-off period lost only about 90% of the bacteria.

Just keeping meat chilled, without ever freezing it, did not kill as much of the bacteria as the first treatment, but produced better results than immediate freezing.

Charles Kaspar, one of the researchers, said, "What we think is happening is that when E. coli encounters the warmer temperatures in the refrigeration process, the bacteria drop their defenses." In contrast, he speculates fast freezing may even protect bacteria.

But whether you freeze hamburger or refrigerate it, Wisconsin researcher Susan Ansay says you still have to cook the meat to make it harmless.

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