What follows I have said before, but maybe not all of it at one time in one place.

I handle ground beef with extreme care and I always use a food thermometer to be sure it is cooked to 160 degrees. I think that is just prudent considering the risk with that product, even though the risk is far less than it was in 1993.

And I always order my burgers well done in restaurants when asked.

I cook and/or order my steaks medium rare and I don’t know if they have been needle tenderized or not. I just feel the risk from that steak, even if needle tenderized, is minimal and my taste buds have spoken. If I wanted to spend some real dough, I would just buy prime beef and not worry about the needle thing.

We are very careful with raw chicken in the handling and the cooking to 165 degrees, but I will be the first to confess that I think I cross contaminate a lot in the kitchen.

And since I cannot cook them, I simply do not eat sprouts, even though I used to love them until I got into food safety and toured a growing facility. They are grown in dark, damp conditions and even though the growers have multiple steps to reduce risk and do their best, risk remains as the number of outbreaks show.

Another delicacy that I truly loved but do not eat raw now are oysters. Vibrio, transmitted through raw oysters, is especially hard on old men who drink too much alcohol. A friend of mine got very ill with a Vibrio infection and was told he could never drink alcohol again. Never ever on the alcohol just for the short-term pleasure of a half-dozen raw oysters? No brainer to this guy.

Despite the known risk, I just ate two sunny-side up eggs so I could dip my toast in it and I will probably not give up that choice. So I can’t preach, “Just cook it” because I don’t follow the recommendation to have the yolk be cooked solid before consuming.

I try and wash our fruit and vegetables, but I cannot help but wonder a little bit about the pure futility of washing broccoli and cauliflower.

I love cantaloupe and must confess here that I often forget to wash the darned thing before cutting it up.

My wife buys pre-cut lettuce in bags in the grocery story even though I beg her not to, but she does listen to me on the pre-cut fruit.

I have been cooking pork to 140 degrees long before the USDA finally lowered the recommended temp from 160.

I don’t eat raw spinach. Not because of the Salinas Valley related outbreak while I was the undersecretary, but because I just don’t like it.

I do get really OCD when shopping and cooking for the Grandkids, but that is different.

They are special. I am not.

Confessions from a not so pure food safety guy

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