Common Mistakes with Meat: What You Might Be Doing Wrong

Are you certain you know how to properly handle cuts of meat and chicken? After a severe contamination was detected in a U.S. burger chain this week, a food safety expert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, recently interviewed for a study on the 'Huffington Post' site, said there's a mistake most people make with the meat and chicken they buy, without even realizing it.

The expert, Archie Magoulas, claims that many of us tend to wash our meat in the sink or on the counter - which increases the risk of spreading bacteria from the meat or chicken to other kitchen utensils or foods. "This is the main mistake but not the only one," he explains. According to him, there's no difference between expensive and cheap meat. "The emphasis is always on how we handle our meat," he explains and goes on to highlight the additional mistakes we make when handling meat.

"Many people even wash ground meat, thinking that it will reduce its fat content and even if true, with opinions suggesting it's correct - there is a way to do it."

Some claim they wash the meat to remove bacteria from it, but according to the American Health Department washing beef isn't necessary, as cooking the meat at a high temperature of 160°F for beef and 165°F for chicken - removes the bacteria.

As mentioned, the contamination discovered this week in a McDonald's chain (across ten states in the U.S.) is an E. coli bacterium that infected dozens of people, causing the death of one person. The stock of the chain has significantly dropped since the revelation of the shocking incident, which joins a Listeria contamination also found in meat products sold in burger chains in the country.