It’s a free country, and we have an abundance of great food compared to other countries around the world. Why did Horvath single out burgers? He sounds like a man with a vegetarian diet and wants you to do the same. He may not eat meat, but he uses beef biproducts every single day.

Burgers, when properly cooked to 160 degrees Farhenheit, are perfectly safe for all consumers. Please go to www.factsaboutbeef.com for science-based facts about the proper cooking and handling practices. Enjoy those delicious beef burgers and steaks in a well-balanced diet, visit www.beefnutrition.com for more facts about nutrition. I’m a lot more careful about washing my vegetables and fruit than I am about cooking my delicious beef.

Between 1998 and 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of 13,405 food-borne disease outbreaks, which resulted in 273,120 reported cases of illness, 9,109 hospitalizations and 200 deaths. Of the 7,998 outbreaks with a known etiology, 3,633 (45 percent) were caused by viruses, 3,613 (45 percent) were caused by bacteria, 685 (5 percent) were caused by chemical and toxic agents and 67 (1 percent) were caused by parasites. Among the 7,724 (58 percent) outbreaks with an implicated food or contaminated ingredient reported, 3,264 (42 percent) could be assigned to one of 17 predefined commodity categories: fish, crustaceans, mollusks, dairy, eggs, beef, game, pork, poultry, grains/beans, oils/sugars, fruits/nuts, fungi, leafy vegetables, root vegetables, sprouts and vegetables from a vine or stalk.

The commodities implicated most commonly were poultry (18.9 percent) and fish (18.6 percent), followed by beef (11.9 percent). Compared with the first two years of the study (1998-1999), the percentage of outbreaks associated with leafy vegetables and dairy increased substantially during 2006-2008, while the percentage of outbreaks associated with eggs decreased.

Patti Buck

Ignacio