A steak cooked to an internal temperature of 71 C may provide a less enjoyable eating experience than one cooked to a lower temperature.
However, 71 C is what Health Canada advises when cooking steak or roasts that have been mechanically tenderized.
A study now underway by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is attempting to determine the cooking temperature that makes muscle cuts safe while keeping them tasty.
It is designed to mesh with studies also undertaken by Health Canada as part of its response to E. coli found last year in beef from the XL Foods plant in Brooks, Alta.
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Several of the 16 people who became ill had eaten beef that had been mechanically tenderized.
It isn’t known whether the illness was related to the tenderization process or to E. coli contamination at some other point between processing plant and consumer table.
However, Health Canada has since encouraged meat retailers to label meat that has been mechanically tenderized and is reviewing the science and safety surrounding the practice.
Mark Klassen of the CCA said his research will explore ways to reduce bacteria on meat surfaces, how best to clean tenderizing equipment and the appropriate cooking temperature of muscle cuts to ensure bacteria are killed.
“We’re trying to determine what the minimum temperature would be from the perspective of assuring food safety,” he said.
“I think it is also fair to say that as you increase the temperature, you do lose some of the juiciness. You can make the meat tougher.”
Mechanical tenderization is a process in which a set of needles or blades penetrate muscle cuts to sever fibres and connective tissue. If there are bacteria on the meat surface, the needles can force it deeper inside. Cooking temperatures high enough to kill the bacteria then become more of an issue.
Klassen said mechanical tenderization has been in practice for decades, and “a fair amount” of steaks and roasts have likely undergone the process at processors, retailers and restaurants.
Unless labeled, it is difficult or impossible for consumers to tell if the meat has been mechanically tenderized.
Health Canada recommended cooking muscle cuts to 71 C during last fall’s E. coli contamination. Klassen said he thinks meat safety can be achieved at a lower temperature.
“I am optimistic that we will be able to demonstrate that it’s not necessary to cook to 71 C,” he said.
“I think it’s well established that the interior is not the same as the exterior. It has a much lower level of organisms that get in there.”
Klassen said the CCA will give its research to Health Canada once it is done, which is expected to take about six weeks.
