Protecting your family

This has been a very busy week for the farm industry due to the recent reports of over 12 million pounds of commercialized beef being recalled. People want to know the food they are feeding their family is safe. They want to know what options they have to help prevent contaminated food from entering their home. Consumers are wanting a safer and healthier alternative than buying commercialized beef.

Commercial beef has a much higher percentage of becoming contaminated with Salmonella and other bacteria’s than buying straight from the farm. The reason behind this is simply due to the volume and scale that is being processed with commercialized operations. For example, a very large processing facility in Atlanta that serves our own country processes around 4,000 cattle a day. That is the equivalent to 3,000 steaks a minute being processed. This leaves a large margin of error for the beef to become contaminated. Cattle that are housed in feedlots do not have the ability to escape their own feces. They stand in it while they eat. When they are ready to sleep it becomes their bed. When they are sent to process, the cattle enter in with their hide covered in what looks to be dirt…it is not dirt. This carries a greater risk of being exposing to E.Coli. In North Texas alone, this year there have been multiple recalls of commercial beef; there has not been a single recall on farm raised beef.

You may be asking “How can I protect my family from food borne bacteria?” There are a few things you can do:

First, whenever possible buy fresh from the farm. Knowing where your food comes from and how it has been processed goes a long way. This goes for both meat and produce.

Another option is to grow your own. This option in reality is not available for everyone.

You want to follow a few guidelines when you clean, separate, cook and chill your food. Below are steps that are encouraged by the CDC.

1. Clean: Wash hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling uncooked eggs, or raw meat, poultry, and seafood and their juices.
2. Wash utensils, cutting boards, dishes, and counter tops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to prepare the next item.  Don’t wash raw poultry, meat, and eggs before cooking. Germs can spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces.
3. Sanitize food contact surfaces with a freshly made solution of one tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in one gallon of water.
4. Separate: Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from other foods in your grocery cart and in your refrigerator. Keep eggs in the original carton and store them in the main part of the refrigerator, not in the door. Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood separate from ready-to-eat foods, such as salads and deli meat.
5. Use separate cutting boards and plates for produce and for raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs.
6. Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
7. Cook: Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature:

• 145°F for beef, veal, lamb, and fish (let the meat rest for 3 minutes before carving or eating).
• 145°F for pork and ham (let the meat rest for 3 minutes before carving or eating).
• 160°F for ground beef, ground pork, ground veal, and ground lamb.
• 160°F for egg dishes.
• 165°F for poultry (chicken, turkey, duck), including ground chicken and ground turkey.
• 165°F for casseroles.
• Microwave food to 165°F or above.

8. Chill: Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or colder.

Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (or 1 hour if the temperature is 90°F or hotter).

This information has been cited from the Center of Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonella-food/index.html

When you buy from G Farms you can rest assured you are receiving the highest quality of grass-fed beef. You can feel comfortable with your purchase knowing where your beef comes from and that we take every measure to ensure the safety of the food, you feed your family. If you have any questions regarding our beef and buying from the farm please give me a call. I am happy to answer any questions you have and would love to serve your family. Kelsey 214-908-3655