Ground Beef Patty Cooking Instruction Validation

Ground Beef Production Food Safety Workshop

American Meat Institute February 2011

Considerations for Validating Cooking Instructions for Retail Ground Beef Patties

When cooking instructions are provided on product labeling, the destruction of pathogens of concern should be validated for each labeled cooking method.Properly validated cooking instructions are those which have been shown to achieve a safe minimum internal temperature of 165° F. (USDA & CDC 7 log reduction)Prudent manufacturers of retail ground beef patties should insure that labeled cooking instructions are simple and easily followed by targeted consumers.

Provide Consumers with a way to provide feedback.

What Do We Know About What’s in the Marketplace

Retail Frozen Ground Beef Patties

“While cooking instructions for frozen ground beef patties were included on all of the 30 products evaluated, they were generally vague, did not specify a cooking time range, and for one brand, required consumer interpretation of “fully cooked.” Only one set of instructions defined “done” as 160°F. The addition of cooking time ranges to the cooking instructions for these products would be suggested to provide clearer guidance to consumers as to when the product was “fully cooked,” and should specify a target internal temperature of 160°F.”

Warren & Bellinger, 2002

What Are the Cooking Methods Used by Consumers for Retail Ground Beef Patties?

• Charcoal Grill• Gas Grill• Microwave• Convection Oven• Oven• Skillet

Burgers – GrillGrill, uncovered, over medium ash-covered coals according to chart for medium

(160°F) doneness until centers are no longer pink and juices show no pink color, turning occasionally.1/2 inch thick x 4 inches (4 oz.) 11 to 13 minutes3/4 inch thick x 4 inches (6 oz.) 13 to 15 minutes

Burgers – BroilBroil 3 to 4 inches from heat according to chart for medium (160°F) doneness until

centers are no longer pink and juices show no pink color, turning once.1/2 inch thick x 4 inches (4 oz.) 10 to 12 minutes3/4 inch thick x 4 inches (6 oz.) 12 to 14 minutes

Burgers – SkilletHeat heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place patties in skillet (do

not crowd). Cook, uncovered, according to chart for medium (160°F) doneness until centers are no longer pink and juices show no pink color, turning once.1/2 inch thick x 4 inches (4 oz.) 10 to 12 minutes3/4 inch thick x 4 inches (6 oz.) 12 to 15 minutes

What’s on the World Wide Web??SOURCE: NCBA Culinary Center

How Long Does it Take to Cook a Hamburger in a Microwave?

• Microwave the hamburger on "medium" power for about 3 to 4 minutes depending upon the size of the microwave and how you like your "burger". Not great but quick and eatable!

• Turn the burger patties over and cook for two to three more minutes, depending on how well-done you want them!

• Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_does_it_take_to_cook_a_hamburger#ixzz1ANiirEsb

How Long Does it Take to Cook a Hamburger on a Charcoal or Gas Grill?

Now, the trick is get your grill going red hot. This is so you can throw the patties on at the correct temp and the hot grill will sear your patties, therefore trapping all the juiciness inside your burger. Enjoy! There may be a little pink inside your burgers after you take them off (medium rare) but the risk is worth the reward...believe me!

9 1 1 Patties!

How do Consumers Handle Ground Beef?

I just broke up and browned two preformed ground beef patties I bought last week from the grocery store. The "sell by" date was the 15th, today is the 21st. My fridge is cold and the meat was still dark red. I cooked it thoroughly, it went in spaghetti sauce . Its been a couple of hours since I ate it and everything is ok so far...lol. I did drink a 3 oz shot of vodka immediately afterward, I figured if there were any stray bacteria stragglers, the alcohol would pollute their environs enough to protect me. I think people are way too careful.

What Do the Experts in Our Industry Recommend?

Heat grill to about 325 degrees.

Place frozen ****** burger® directly on grill rack.

Don't flip the burger 'til you see juices on top.

Once you flip the burger, cook it 'til it's just like you like it!

Labels on Packages of Frozen Ground Beef Patties Do Not Always Provide Cooking Instructions That Result in Safely Cooked Patties!

So How Do We Scientifically Validate Cooking Instructions??

• Product MUST be validated for all of the various cooking platforms that could be used.

• Consumers should be instructed to utilize cooking thermometers to VERIFY temperatures.

• Product MUST be tested based on its’ use dates rather than its’ manufacture dates.– This is an important consideration because

the products change during storage.• Sublimation and Moisture Loss• Temperature Abuse / Handling

Number of Samples to Test

• The number of samples to be tested should be sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that the cooking instructions, if followed, will result in a safe product.

• The number of samples tested must be sufficient to capture the variability in product heating and determine which factors are most responsible for this variability.

• It is recommended that multiple (e.g., three separate) lots of product be tested to account for variability among lots.

• It may be appropriate to utilize a statistician to assure that the study fully considers all variables that might significantly affect the adequacy of the final temperature achieved throughout the product during the cooking process.

Product and Package Factors

• Each product type (including composition, size, shape, components, distribution, or package configuration) should be tested.

• The initial temperature of tested product should be the lowest expected at the time of preparation in a typical consumer’s home.– frozen products, unless they bear clear instructions requiring thawing

prior to cooking, should be in their frozen state (0°F - 10°F) when testing begins.

• Frozen products are more likely to heat unevenly, especially in microwave ovens, than products that are refrigerated prior to cooking and, as such, have a greater likelihood of having cold spots that could allow pathogens to survive.

Product Variables that Affect Cooking Temperatures

• Fat content– Higher fat products require a longer cooking time (Troutt, et.al. 1992)

• Pattie Dimensions– Thickness, length, width

• Perforations• Product texture and grind size• Standard Fill or Tenderform• Other ingredients

Temperature Determination

• It is recommended that the temperature be monitored at, or determined for multiple sites on any product.

• Probing with a thermometer to determine post-cooking temperature should occur immediately after the product is removed from the cooking surface.

• Note: No matter what method of temperature measurement is employed during validation testing, it is important that the temperature measuring device(s), whether a thermometer, thermocouple, fiber optic sensor, etc., is properly calibrated prior to use.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Collect sufficient data to determine the range and variability of cooking temperatures on a specified platform.– Record all temperature data, including several data points for each

patty probed.

• Data can be analyzed using a variety of statistical methods. However it is imperative to understand the range and standard deviation of the cooking temperatures achieved.

This spreadsheet is designed for up to 50 samples, each of a constant sample size from 2 to 10. Enter data ONLY in yellow-shaded cells.Enter the number of samples in cell D6 and the sample size in cell D7. Then enter your data in the grid below. Click on sheet tabs for a display of the control charts. Specification limits may be entered in cells N7 and N8 for process capability.

Number of samples (<= 50) 49 Process Capability Calculations Six sigma 20.836 Upper specification 180 1.2

Lower specification 155 0.439Grand Average A2 D3 D4 d2 1.961Average Range 0.483 0 2.004 2.534 0.439

X-bar and R-Chart

Sample size (2 - 10)

175.43 8.80

CpCpuCplCpk

In industrial statistics, the X-bar chart is a type of control chart that is used to monitor the arithmetic means of successive

samples of constant size, n. This type of control chart is used for characteristics that can be measured on a continuous scale, such

as weight, temperature, thickness etc.

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X-bar Chart AveragesLower control limitUpper control limitCenter line

In this chart the sample means are plotted in order to control the mean value of a variable. This chart controls the process

variability since the sample range is related to the process standard deviation. The center line of the R chart is the average

range.

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R-Chart RangesLower control limitUpper control limitCenter line

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1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115

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http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/data-collection-analysis-tools/overview/control-chart.html

Control Charts

Description

This template illustrates a Statistical Process Control (SPC) chart. A detailed discussion of SPC charts can be found at www.ASQ.org

Instructions

●Select the correct subgroup size. When in doubt, select a subgroup size of one. Partial subgroups are not displayed.

●Enter up to 200 data points in the cells provided. Do not enter values in the subgroup column. These cells update automatically to show the subgroup in which the data point is included.

●Identify any out of control conditions. Four tests are performed. Use the legend to identify the points corresponding to a particular test.

●If a test looks for a proportion of points, only the offending point will be identified. For example, if eight points in a row are on one side of the centerline only the eighth point will be identified.

Control Chart Data

167.52 Xbar/IMR Chart Avg 170.5 Xbar one sigma Upper Limit 5.934 Rbar one sigma Upper Limit3.3782 Range Chart Avg 173.5 Xbar two sigma Upper Limit 8.49 Rbar two sigma Upper Limit

2.9948149 Rbar/d2 176.5 Xbar three sigma Upper Limit 11.05 Rbar three sigma Upper Limit120 Number of samples 164.5 Xbar one sigma Lower Limit 0.822 Rbar one sigma Lower Limit1 Subgroup size 161.5 Xbar two sigma Lower Limit n/a Rbar two sigma Lower Limit

120 Number of subgroups 158.5 Xbar three sigma Lower Limit n/a Rbar three sigma Lower Limit

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

Sub Group Data

1 165 26 163 51 170 76 163 101 161 126 151 1762 166 27 166 52 172 77 165 102 165 127 152 1773 166 28 167 53 171 78 168 103 164 128 153 1784 167 29 166 54 169 79 164 104 171 129 154 1795 162 30 172 55 163 80 171 105 169 130 155 1806 171 31 170 56 166 81 166 106 168 131 156 1817 169 32 172 57 173 82 172 107 166 132 157 1828 171 33 171 58 166 83 167 108 172 133 158 1839 164 34 171 59 170 84 161 109 167 134 159 18410 169 35 170 60 171 85 169 110 164 135 160 18511 165 36 167 61 167 86 165 111 170 136 161 18612 166 37 166 62 170 87 170 112 164 137 162 18713 170 38 170 63 171 88 164 113 168 138 163 18814 164 39 169 64 167 89 166 114 169 139 164 18915 166 40 166 65 170 90 164 115 171 140 165 19016 168 41 168 66 170 91 165 116 172 141 166 19117 169 42 168 67 171 92 164 117 175 142 167 19218 165 43 170 68 165 93 161 118 176 143 168 19319 160 44 169 69 168 94 165 119 169 144 169 19420 168 45 167 70 168 95 162 120 171 145 170 19521 169 46 170 71 174 96 169 121 146 171 19622 165 47 163 72 167 97 169 122 147 172 19723 163 48 168 73 164 98 172 123 148 173 19824 167 49 172 74 161 99 163 124 149 174 19925 165 50 167 75 166 100 167 125 150 175 200

Evaluation of Results; The Z value

• For all cooking methods, a statistical analysis of the data points may be used when not all the data are at or above the target temperature.

• When temperature data are normally distributed, one approach is to calculate the Z value for the data using the formula from all data for a product cooked using a specified set of consumer directions. – Z= (average temperature – target temperature) / standard deviation

• The probability that a random temperature value would be less than the target temperature can be determined from a statistical table

Resources and References

• American Society for Quality; asq.org– Statistical Process Control Charts

• Validation of Consumer Cooking Instructions for Not Ready to Eat Productshttp://www.docstoc.com/docs/4916430/GUIDELINES-FOR-VALIDATION-OF-CONSUMER-COOKING-INSTRUCTIONS-FOR-NOT-

• Evaluation of Cooking Instructions and Methods for Uncooked Beef Products; http://www.beef.org/uDocs/Eval%20of%20Cooking%20Instructions_Warren_7_7_03.pdf