Heurlier, Karin

Millman, Caroline

Morris, Cecile

Pinnington, Saskia

Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive

E. coli with a side of fries? The real safety risk of the increasing trend for pink burgers in the U.K.PINNINGTON, Saskia, HEURLIER, Karin, MORRIS, Cecile <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6821-1232> and MILLMAN, Caroline <http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4935-0477>Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at:http://shura.shu.ac.uk/25288/This document is the author deposited version.  You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it.Published versionPINNINGTON, Saskia, HEURLIER, Karin, MORRIS, Cecile and MILLMAN, Caroline (2019). E. coli with a side of fries? The real safety risk of the increasing trend for pink burgers in the U.K. In: 2nd Food Chemistry conference. Shaping the future of food quality, safety, nutrition and health., Seville, Spain, 17 September 2019 - 19 September 2019. Elsevier. (Unpublished) Copyright and re-use policySee http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.htmlSheffield Hallam University Research Archivehttp://shura.shu.ac.ukE. COLI WITH A SIDE OF FRIES? THE REAL SAFETY RISK OF THE INCREASING TREND FOR PINK BURGERS IN THE UKSaskia Pinnington, Karin Heurlier, Cécile Morris and Caroline MillmanStoddart Building, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard St, Sheffield S1 1WB INTRODUCTIONWhen cows are slaughtered, there is a potential risk for the surface of the meat to get contaminated with microorganisms from the animal guts, such as Esherichia coli. Cattle can be a healthy carrier of E.coli from the VTEC serotype (such as the infamous E. coli O157), with 19 to 39% farm-level prevalence in UK (Chase-Topping et al., 2008). Stringent CCPs are put in place to try to reduce the initial loading and further contamination of the meat before consumption; still, in 1997, E. coli O157 was found in 1.1% of 1120 beef burgers sampled in the UK (Chapman et al., 2000). Unlike steaks, which present surface contamination only, burgers can present contamination to their core, due to the redistribution of that surface area during the mincing process. As a result, partial cooking does not reduce microbiological loading in burgers and implies an increased risk to consumers of being exposed to E. coli O157. Despite published guidelines from the UK Food Standard Agency (FSA) on the preparation and serving of rare burgers, there is a growing trend of eating “pink” burgers in the UK (Jones et al., 2016).Extra Extra Rare Extra Rare                          Rare Medium Well Done(EER, 30-39˚C, 5min) (ER, 40-49˚C, 6min) (R, 50-59˚C, 7min) (M, 60-69˚C, 8min) (WD, 70+˚C, 10min) Figure 2. An online survey (n = 628) was conducted to assess the preferences and food safety perceptions of consumers when it comes to eating burgers cooked at different levels, using colour as a measure. Information on the cooking time or temperature of the burgers was not provided, instead the pictures were attributed randomised numbers for choice purposes. To prepare the visual aids, a range of core temperatures was attributed to each targeted  level of doneness, which could be reached by cooking the burgers for the indicated time.CONCLUSION Core temperatures, redness and total ACC were shown to correlate to cooking time, with the well-done sample achieving a core temperature of >70oC. The trend towards pink burgers was confirmed, with only 34% of the survey participants choosing the 'safe-to-eat' or well-done burgers. The survey identified a gap in knowledge in food safety from the participants with no food safety qualifications, with 33% of them having never heard of the UK Food Standards Agency. Providing the FSA guideline about cooking and eating safe burgers had a significant (p<0.05) impact on the participants choices, with a 12.3% shift in their preferences towards burgers cooked to a greater degree.5678910114 6 8 10Colorimetry (a value)3545556575854 6 8 10Core temperature (oC)1.E+001.E+011.E+021.E+031.E+041.E+054 6 8 10Aerobic Colony Count (LogCFU/g of meat)Cooking time (minutes)Figure 3. Core temperature, redness and Aerobic Colony Count (ACC) compared to cooking time.A. The core temperature of burgers was measured with a digital probe after the burgers were cooked for a determined time an blast-chilled. B. The colour of the cores of burgers was measured with a Minolta colorimeter after the burgers were cooked for a determined time an blast-chilled. The a values from the L,a,b measurements were used to estimate the redness of the burgers. C. ACC was determined for burgers blast-chilled after reaching a specific level of doneness. An acceptable level of ACC was only achieved in the burger cooked for 10 minutes.Each point is the mean +/- standard deviation of 3 burgers.3A. Core Temperature(R2=0.81)3B. Redness(R2=0.97)3C. Aerobic Colony Count01020304050607018-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+ Prefernot tosay andother% of populationAge rangesFigure 6. Survey population The survey attracted over 700 participants, but only 628 were included after data cleaning. 73% female versus 27% male. Age ranges used are similar to those used in population pyramids (25-34; 35-44; 45-54; 55-64; 65+; PopulationPyramids.net); the 18-25 group from the survey is compared to a 20-24 UK group (*) meaning that people aged 18 and 19 are not represented in the  UK demographic bar. Survey participants with experience in the food sector equated to 59% of the survey population.*UK demographic              Survey demographicFigure 1. Even high profile politicians contribute to misleading the public about the safety of rare burgers. REFERENCESChase-Topping et al., 2008. Super-shedding and the link between human infection and livestock carriage of Escherichia coli O157. Nat Rev Microbiol6:904-912Chapman et al., 2000. A one year study of Escherichia coli O157 in raw beef and lamb products. Epidemiol Infect 124:207-213Jones et al., 2016. Restaurant Cooking Trends and Increased Risk for Campylobacter Infection. Emerg Infect Dis 22:1208-1215FSA, 2017. Food safety advice when preparing burgers at home and when eating burgers in restaurants . https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/burgersFigure 4. Demographic split on burger doneness choice before receiving safety information. 0%20%40%60%80%100%18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+Distribution of burger choicesAge rangesDangerous (EER, ER &R) Medium Well DoneFigure 5. The choice of level of doneness for burgers is influenced by the briefing of the participants on the risks and safety measures associated with burgers. The * indicates significantly different (p<0.05) count of choices before and after briefing, as determined with a McNemar test.0102030405060EER ER R M WD% participants***Choice before briefingChoice after briefingFigure 7. Food Safety Logo recognition of participants with food industry experience and those without.33%19%67%81%0%20%40%60%80%100%Non professional ProfessionalDistribution of the recognition of UK Food Safety logosRecognised at least one                    Recognised none

E. coli with a side of fries? The real safety risk of the increasing trend for pink burgers in the U.K.

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E. coli with a side of fries? The real safety risk of the increasing trend for pink burgers in the U.K.

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