As you slide the spatula under that hamburger, you might be thinking about that great sandwich. You might be more concerned about something else: E. coli bacteria.
Unless you are certain that it's cooked thoroughly, cook it longer. There's no way to know whether the meat contains the bacteria. You can't tell by the aroma or the taste.
It's hard to say how many Americans fall ill every year from E. coli infection, the largest source of which is contaminated ground beef. The best guess is that more than 70,000 people get sick. About 2,000 get sick enough to be hospitalized and some 60 people in the United States will die of it.
An industry-wide survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year found that one of every 200 samples of ground beef was contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
It would be impossible to test every package of hamburger, and it takes just a small amount of E. coli to make someone seriously ill. Irradiation has been approved for use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It treats meat with a low dose of radiation that can kill virtually all bacteria. Public suspicion, however, has prevented its use.
Producers and the USDA can't guarantee germ-free meat. All consumers can do is to handle it carefully and cook it to 160 degrees, which kills E. coli.