Medium-cooked minced-beef patties are increasingly served in restaurants. Raw minced beef is a high-risk food because of the occurrence of the EHEC bacterium in it. When meat is minced, the bacteria from the surface of the meat are mixed everywhere in the minced meat. Several extensive food poisoning epidemics caused by EHEC bacterium and linked to poorly cooked minced meat beef has occurred across the world.
The Finnish Food Authority recommends serving all minced meat products well done and not medium-cooked. When minced meat products such as burgers are served to children or aged people, they should always be thoroughly cooked. If the customer specifically wants to order the beef medium cooked, the Finnish Food Authority recommends that the beef should be made from fresh and good-quality meat. However, it is good to be aware that even fresh meat that has been properly processed and stored may contain EHEC bacteria or other pathogens. Ordinary minced meat, meaning the minced meat already minced by stores or industry, should not be used to prepare and serve raw or medium-cooked products. EHEC can cause bloody diarrhea and, especially in children and the elderly, serious illness, which may be accompanied by permanent kidney damage.
The recommendation of the Finnish Food Authority regarding the preparation and serving of a medium-cooked ground beef patty can be found on the right side of this page. The recommendation was updated in December 2024. Among other things, the update specifies that the safest way to prepare mincemeat patties is to heat the surface of a whole piece of meat, for example by burning or browning, and then cut off the surface parts before pounding or grinding the inner parts of the meat into mincemeat. Heating the surfaces reduces the risk of bacteria ending up on the surface of the meat in the inner parts. There is no reason to store minced meat prepared in this way for later use. Serving tartar steaks often involve the same risks and therefore the same principles can also be applied in the preparation of tartar steaks.
Sampling and tests applicable to medium-cooked minced meat burgers
If the restaurant makes minced meat that is served to the customer raw or medium-cooked, it is recommended that the restaurant include in its sampling programme Salmonella and E. coli tests for the products and sampling of surface hygiene with regard to salmonella in accordance with the instructions of the Finnish Food Authority (Microbiological requirements for foodstuffs, application of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005, Annex 9). Furthermore, the Finnish Food Authority recommends that the examination of EHEC/STEC bacteria be included in the sampling programme, also for other serotypes than O157.
In Finland, STEC tests are carried out by local laboratories and the Finnish Food Authority in Helsinki. The samples are sent to the local laboratories and the Finnish Food Authority takes care of the possible further tests required by the method. The examining laboratory should be contacted before sending the samples. For more information about STEC tests, contact Saija Hallanvuo, Senior Researcher, Division of Food and Feed Microbiology, Finnish Food Authority, tel. +358 40 4893448.
If the restaurant uses ready-to-use minced meat or/industrially pre-ground ground meat for the preparation of mince steaks served medium-cooked elsewhere than in its own food premises, it is recommended that the restaurant verify that the approved food premises manufacturing the minced meat conducts the tests referred to in the process hygiene criteria and their results are at least at a good level (Finnish Food Authority's instructions Microbiological requirements for foodstuffs, application of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005, Annex 1 C, point 2.1.6 Minced meat). Even the good quality of minced meat does not guarantee that pathogenic bacteria such as the EHEC bacterium cannot be found in it. However, the good quality shows that the establishment complies with good hygiene in its production practices, which reduces the risk of the bacteria entering the meat. It is also recommended that approved food establishments manufacturing minced meat also test their minced meat for the EHEC/STEC bacterium if it is sold to restaurants for preparing medium-cooked burgers.