You want blood, you can't have it...

[Scooter]

Salmonella, listeria, E. coli...all nasty bugs that can easily be present in ground beef and which won't be killed unless cooked through (i.e. no pink at all).

The last time I ordered a burger in the U.S. was around 1989, it was right after a bunch of kids got sick from eating at Jack in the Box, and when I asked for my burger well done (can't remember which restaurant, somewhere in Minneapolis) the server said they didn't do them any other way. I just assumed it was the norm until I started watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and saw all the places that serve burgers that are still bleeding. No way I could ever take that risk in my condition.

[Crackpot]

It seems to have alot to do with the restauranteurs perception of the meat they're selling. FWIW you should be able to achieve the heat required to kill the bugs at medium and medium-rare

[oldr_n_wsr]

it was right after a bunch of kids got sick from eating at Jack in the Box,

Who didn't get sick from eating at Jack in the Box?
The only thing to order there was the burrito as it was pre-cooked, frozen then deepfried when ordered.
And there was no kind of meat in it (rat cost too much)

[loCAtek]

Yup, I hear rat is a delicacy in Asia.

[Rick]

Exposed surfaces of whole muscle beef should reach 140F.

Ground beef and pork internal temp 150F for 15 seconds.

Poultry internal temp 160F for 15 seconds...

[Crackpot]

145 for pork now

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/dinin ... .html?_r=1

[Rick]

It appears as though several temps have changed...

Actually it appears as though I was off by 5F on every thing.

3-401.11 Raw Animal Foods.

Glad I've never claimed perfection...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Glad I've never claimed perfection...

Just don't screw up my medium rare burger (with cheese and onions).

[Jarlaxle]

Actually, the screening is all voluntarily provided, that is: if you think, or better yet; if you know you don't have HIV, then don't tell them of that glancing encounter you might have had. I'm aware the questionnaire changes all the time, but never have I had to have a lie detector test taken in order to donate. Which means my glancing encounter was getting a home ear piercing from a sewing needle, which I just 'forgot', when I later donated at the Red Cross. It's possible, perfectly healthy, homosexuals (like lesbians) donate all the time. The question is asked, "Have you ever had sex with a man, who has had sex with another man since 1977?"
I've had to forget about that guy too. That was decades ago, and I've been HIV tested by the military and by the Red Cross regularly since then.

They also test every donation very thoroughly, before it is put in the blood supply. So, your example of a promiscuous woman, who has probably contracted HIV from that behavior, may be able to make a blood donation once; where it will be rejected. After that her name and social security number go into a database of those ineligible to donate.

Edited to correct myself: You should know you don't have HIV, if you intend to donate blood. The Red Cross is not a testing facility; they will not use rejected donations, but you will not be notified, unless you try to donate again.

Pretty much. I know a gay man who has donated regularly for 20+ years (like me, he's O negative). He has been in a mutually-monogomous relationship for about 15 years now, he doesn't have HIV.

I average one Red Cross card in the mail every 3-4 weeks, and donate regularly. Liz can't donate for (I think) another year. Her best friend cannot donate at all...minimum weight is 95lbs, and she has never topped 90 in her life.

[Jarlaxle]

Glad I've never claimed perfection...

Just don't screw up my medium rare burger (with cheese and onions).

Grilled medium-well, no cheese, with catsup, mustard, red relish, chopped onions, garlic powder, and lettuce, on a toasted wheat roll.

Liz will take is medium well, with pepper jack cheese, chopped or sliced onion, kosher dill pickles, lettuce, tomato, a bit of Tabasco, and usually a bit of salsa.