What’s safest? Cook it fully

The Star called the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline (888-674-6854) to learn the agency’s current advice for consumers on how to cook mechanically tenderized steaks.

That is, assuming a consumer could determine whether the steaks had been mechanically tenderized, since there are no labeling requirements.

“That’s a good question,” the person answering the hotline said.

The Star was put on hold, twice. Eventually, The Star was told to call the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service technical center in Omaha, Neb. The expert there said The Star should call the Meat and Poultry Hotline.

After the newspaper explained that it already had called the Meat and Poultry Hotline, the expert at the technical center said that the needles used to tenderize beef can push pathogens into the interior of the meat, so it’s best to cook such steaks thoroughly — like hamburger.

While some producers voluntarily label such products, the expert said, “unfortunately” the agency is still working on a “mandate” that would require all of them to do so.

Until then, the expert said, if you don’t know whether a steak has been mechanically tenderized, it’s the safest bet to cook it thoroughly.