Hamburger

Hamburger is subsequently defined as consisting of "chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without the addition of beef fat as such and/or seasoning, shall not contain more than 30% fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders" (Code of Federal Regulations, 2015b).

From: Food Hygiene and Toxicology in Ready-to-Eat Foods , 2016

Handling of hamburgers and cooking practices

Daniel A. Unruh , ... Sara E. Gragg , in Food Hygiene and Toxicology in Ready-to-Eat Foods, 2016

Introduction

Fletcher Davis is credited with making the first hamburger in the late 19th century, and consumption by the American public has been commonplace ever since ( Grimes, 1998). In fact, the popularity of the hamburger is staggering: an estimated 50 billion hamburgers are consumed annually in the United States (Rolfes, 2012). This comprises 60% of total beef production in the United States and equates to over 16 billion pounds (Crandall et al., 2013). Quick-service restaurants (more commonly known as fast-food establishments) have played a vital role in the growing popularity of hamburgers, particularly when considering convenience and price. It is estimated that fast-food restaurants account for more than 50% of hamburgers consumed, with another 30% consumed in the home (a number that has been increasing) (Ralston et al., 2002). A smaller percentage of hamburgers are consumed at "sit-down" restaurants, cafeterias, residential dining locations, and convenience stores (Ralston et al., 2002; Røssvoll et al., 2014). Additionally, hamburger is a component of many commonly consumed dishes, including tacos, spaghetti, meatballs, breakfast items, ethnic dishes, and more.

The following chapter sheds light on the processes involved in hamburger production throughout the supply chain, as well as the importance and shared responsibility, from animal harvest to consumer practices, of safe handling. This includes current industry practices used to protect consumers, recommendations for at-home preparation, and potential public health implications of improper handling at any point in the supply chain. Additionally, government regulations to ensure hamburger safety, as well as current research into pathogen reduction in ground beef, will be discussed.

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Proteins in cultured beef

M.J. Post , in Proteins in Food Processing (Second Edition), 2018

11.3.2 Fat composition

The tasters in London remarked that the hamburger from cultured beef was dry. This was attributed to the lack of fat tissue, as it was exclusively made from muscle fibers. Culturing fat tissue from ADSCs or from myosatellite cells ( Lepper and Fan, 2010) is possible although traditional methods are not applicable to food production as they require a combined activation by dexamethasone (steroid), indomethacin, and a toxic xanthine, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) (Zhao et al., 2015). However, these stimuli converge on a biochemical pathway in the fat cell that eventually activates the master transcription factor PPAR-γ. We therefore stimulated ADSCs with the natural ligands of PPAR-γ, being free fatty acids. The prototypic stimulus and positive control is rosiglitazone, a drug used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Some of those fatty acids work quite well and we routinely can differentiate ADSCs into fat cells with mild and natural stimulation. Making tissue of these fat cells is both mandatory and less challenging than making muscle fibers. It is mandatory as mature fat cells are difficult to maintain in an adherent state when cultured under a fluid layer: since fats have a lower specific gravity than the watery medium, they float on the surface. In a matrix of biomaterial, the cells stay bound and form fat tissue. Unlike the formation of muscle fibers, where the interaction between differentiating myocytes with their matrix is crucial to form the structure, this interaction does not seem to be necessary to produce proper fat tissue.

Although the fat fraction is important for the taste and texture of meat, it is also held accountable for the association between meat consumption and cardiovascular disease, because of the high content of saturated fatty acids and low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (Wood et al., 2004). The amount of PUFAs in meat from ruminants such as cows seems to be affected by food intake. In a similar manner, but more controllable, PUFA levels can be controlled by the composition of the medium used for fat tissue culture (Wood et al., 1999). It is however also clear that there is a limit to the amount of PUFAs that can be reached without affecting the taste of meat. The optimum will therefore need to be derived from a combination of biochemical and sensory tests. For hamburgers, the separate culture of muscle tissue and fat tissue, that is later combined when patties are made, makes it very easy to precisely titrate the amount of fat that will be present. Optimizing the production of fat tissue for a hamburger application is still in the early development and will require additional work.

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ENTEROBACTERIACEAE, COLIFORMS AND E. COLI | Classical and Modern Methods for Detection and Enumeration

R. Eden , in Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology (Second Edition), 2014

Pathogenic E. coli

In 1993, 700 people were sickened by hamburger patties contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 sold at Jack-in-the-Box restaurants. This incident led to 171 hospitalizations and 4 deaths. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is notorious for causing serious and even life-threatening complications, such as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). Severity of the illness varies considerably depending on the E. coli strain and the health of the consumer; it can be fatal, particularly to young children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised.

After the Jack-in-the-Box episode, many more outbreaks resulted from hamburger meat, fresh vegetables, and other food commodities. Eventually other strains of E. coli producing lethal toxins were identified, including O194:H4, O104:H21, O121, O26, 103, O111, and O145. Figure 1 shows the relationships between the various groups of organisms discussed in this article.

Figure 1. The relationships between the various indicator groups.

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General and Global Situation

Adriana Basile , Pasquale Ferranti , in Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability, 2019

Perspectives

Further research is needed to improve the sensory characteristics. The first hamburger of 2013 had been practically assembled by hand, adding flavor and color flavors to imitate the red colour given by myoglobin to traditional meat, and finally shaped to form the meatball. Those of the future could come from a 3D printer, already prepared to print them in the desired shape.

On the other side, the most recent studies on the consumers' acceptance evidence the persistance of a conditioned benefit perception in the evaluation of different food production methods (Hartmann and Siegrist, 2017; Siegrist and Sütterlin, 2016; Siegrist et al., 2016), mainly due to distrust about the use of gene technology compared with conventional food technology. Therefore, new strategies aiming to educate people towards the new production methods have to be designed for increasing consumer acceptance.

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Food Fraud and Authenticity

Annemieke M. Pustjens , ... Saskia M. van Ruth , in Innovation and Future Trends in Food Manufacturing and Supply Chain Technologies, 2016

1.2.1.3 Products of Animal Origin: Species Identification

Authenticity investigations revealed that in certain countries for 15–39% of the meat products, like hamburgers and sausages, animal species was not declared on the label ( Ballin, 2010). Also, more expensive, more authentic meat can be (partly) substituted with cheaper, less authentic meat tissues or species. For example, different cuts of beef that were interchanged can be analytically distinguished (Al-Jowder et al., 1999). The horsemeat scandal is a more recent example where beef was (partly) substituted with horsemeat for economic gain (Zając et al., 2014).

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Packaging of Foods

A.L. Brody , in Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology (Second Edition), 2014

Ground Meat

About 40% of fresh beef is offered in ground or minced form to enable the preparation of hamburger sandwiches and related foods. Ground beef was originally a by-product – that is, the trimmings from reducing muscle to edible portion size. The demand for ground beef is now so great that some muscle cuts are ground specifically to meet the demand. Grinding the beef further distributes the surface and below-surface microflora and thus provides a rich substrate for microbial growth even under refrigerated conditions. Relatively little pork is reduced to ground fresh form; however, increasing quantities of poultry meat are being comminuted and offered fresh to consumers, both on its own and as a cheaper substitute for ground beef. The major portion of ground beef is ground coarsely at abattoir level and packaged under reduced O 2 levels for distribution at refrigeration temperatures to help retard microbiological growth. The most common packaging technique is pressure-stuffing into chubs, which are tubes of flexible gas-impermeable materials closed at each end by tight-fitting metal clips. Pressure-stuffing the pliable contents forces most of the air out of the ground beef, and because there is no head-space within the package, little air is present to support the growth of aerobic spoilage microorganisms, such as Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc spp. At the retail level, the coarsely ground beef is ground finely to restore the desirable oxymyoglobin red color and to provide the consumer with the desired product.

In almost all instances, the retail cuts and portions are placed in expanded polystyrene (EPS) trays, which are overwrapped with plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film. The tray materials are resistant to fat and moisture to the extent that many trays are lined internally with absorbent pads to absorb the purge from the meat as it ages or deteriorates in the retail packages. Because of the prognosis, the PVC materials are not sealed but rather are tacked so that the somewhat-water-vapor-impermeable structure does not permit loss of significant moisture during short refrigerated distribution. Being a poor gas barrier, PVC film permits the access of air and hence the oxymyoglobin red color is retained for the short duration of retail distribution.

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Application of Chitosan in Fresh and Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables

Susana Patricia Miranda-Castro , in Chitosan in the Preservation of Agricultural Commodities, 2016

Tomato

In particular, the consumption of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) in raw form in salads, hamburgers, and fresh juices has increased. They are a good source of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, and folate.

Liu et al. [157] investigated the effect of 2% chitosan (90% DD and viscosity of 15 cp) on the control of gray and blue rots in tomatoes stored at different temperatures. Results indicated that chitosan provided an effective control of both diseases of tomato fruit stored at 25 and 2°C. Chitosan strongly inhibited spore germination, germ tube elongation, and mycelial growth of both fungi, Studies demonstrated that chitosan damaged the plasma membranes of conidia. Chitosan also induced a significant increase in the activities of PPO and PO, and enhanced the content of phenolic compounds.

Badawy et al. [158] evaluated the effectiveness of chitosan with different molecular weights (0.5 × 104, 3.7 × 104, 5.7 × 104, and 2.9 × 105 g/mol) to control gray mold in vitro and in vivo in tomato fruit stored at different temperatures. For the mycelial radial growth assay, chitosan solutions were added into PDA medium at concentrations ranging from 250 mg/L to 5,000 mg/L. According to the in vitro results, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 mg/L concentrations were chosen as the optimal ones to carry out the in vivo experiment against B. cinerea. Enzymatic and total soluble phenolics content assays were also carried out. In these experiments, chitosan treatments significantly reduced fungal decay. At concentrations of 2,000 mg/L and 4,000 mg/L, chitosan showed complete control of the fungus in wound-inoculated fruit. Results also revealed that high chitosan concentrations were correlated with low disease incidence. Chitosan treatment also decreased the activity of PPO and enhanced total protein and phenolic compounds in wounded tomato fruit.

Previous studies carried out by Wang et al. [159] showed that fructose polymer burdock fructooligosaccharide (BFO) isolated from roots of Arcitum lappa was able to increase the quantity of volatile organic compounds of L. esculentum cv. Shengfen, and the resistance to B. cinerea. It was reported that this compound also induced accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) and increased the activities of some defense-related enzymes. In this research, the effects of BFO on the control of postharvest diseases in tomato fruit and the underlying mechanisms were also investigated with the application of chitosan oligosaccharide (CO) (degree of polymerization 2–20, average weight ≤ 3,000 Da, with 90–100% deacetylation). Results indicated that both BFO and CO effectively inhibited natural postharvest diseases and reduced disease incidence of B. cinerea. BFO increased the mRNA level of genes encoding pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs), such as PR-1a, PR-2a (extracellular β-1,3-glucanase), PR-2b (intracellular β-1,3-glucanase), PR-3a (extracellular chitinase), and PR-3b (intracellular chitinase) and induced RNA accumulation of the PAL gene in this fruit.

In another study Ramos-García et al. [160] evaluated the effectiveness of the combined treatments of chitosan with two essential oils, beeswax and oleic acid in controlling R. stolonifer and E. coli DH5α in vitro, and on tomatoes at small scale and at semi-commercial levels. Overall, coating applications were better against E. coli DH5α than R. stolonifer. Experiments demonstrated that the best coating was that made of chitosan (1%) + beeswax (0.1%) + lime essential oil (0.1%), with no growth of R. stolonifer and E. coli DH5α as a result.

The effects of chitosan (deacetylated ±95%) with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) against A. alternata in vitro and in vivo were studied by Chen et al. [161]. The results of that experiment showed that the combination of chitosan and methyl jasmonate resulted in a significant enhanced control of A. alternata in vitro and on tomato. In the inoculated tomato, 0.1% chitosan and 500 mL/L MeJa enhanced the activities of PAL, PPO, and POD, which are considered to play important roles in plant disease resistance. MeJA at all tested concentrations alone, or in combination with chitosan, was able to suppress the growth and germination of A. alternata in vitro.

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Optimisation of End-Product Quality for the Consumer

Diane Miskelly , in Cereal Grains (Second Edition), 2017

24.3.1.2 The Sponge-and-Dough Method

The sponge-and-dough process is used in the United States and Asia, and is often used elsewhere for hamburger buns in multi-national fast-food franchises. In this two-step procedure, a portion of the flour is mixed with a portion of the water plus the yeast; the resulting soft dough is allowed to ferment for about 2 h. The rest of the ingredients are then added, the dough is remixed and allowed a secondary fermentation. The remainder of the process is carried out as in the straight-dough method. Total process time is 6–8 h. It is common to add high levels of fat and sugar, so that the resulting bread has a fine, even texture and sweet taste. Due to the long fermentation time and the fat and sugar additions, a high-protein high-strength flour is usually specified.

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Sampling of red meat

C.O. Gill , in Microbiological Analysis of Red Meat, Poultry and Eggs, 2007

6.5 Sampling sites

Although it may be possible sometimes to take the whole of a product item as a sample, for example an entire hamburger patty, the sampling method and/or the size of the item often precludes sampling of the whole product. Then, appropriate sampling sites must be decided. An item can be sampled at one or several sites, which may be chosen as being representative of all sites on or in the item, as likely to be more heavily contaminated than most other sites or taken at random. With smaller items, such as primal or consumer cuts, sampling usually would be at one site regarded as representative although, if fat cover is extensive, such products might be sampled at both a fat and a lean surface in each case.

Large items, for which there are no sites where heavy contamination is considered particularly likely, may be sampled at representative sites or at random. For example, a bulk container of manufacturing beef may be sampled by cutting cores through the meat at the centre and two or more corners of the bulked meat; or it may be sampled by cutting portions from pieces of meat selected at random from product in the container (Siragusa, 1998). In contrast, it has become the usual practice to sample carcasses at sites that are known to be often heavily contaminated, such as the hock, rump, brisket and neck (Roberts et al., 1980); and cartons of hot-boned meat are often sampled at their geometric centres, since the most extensive bacterial growth, and thus the highest numbers, could be expected at that slowest cooling site (AQIS, 2001).

The rationale for sampling only selected sites that are expected to be relatively heavily contaminated is that, if such sites are microbiologically acceptable, then the rest of the product will be too. However, for items like beef carcasses, the part of the carcass that is examined is only a small fraction of the total surface area (Jericho et al., 1997). The microbiological condition of the rest of the carcass may then be far better, or only marginally so, than the condition of the selected sites. Thus, assessments of the microbiological condition of the product based on the same data may differ considerably, depending on the relationship that is assumed to exist between the microbiological condition of the selected sites and the condition of the rest of the carcass.

For estimating the mean numbers of bacteria in or on a product, random sampling of sites and product units is necessary by, for example, reference to a grid (Fig. 6.3). Otherwise, the redistribution of bacteria from the more heavily contaminated to less contaminated sites may give the illusion of numbers being reduced, if only initially heavily-contaminated sites are sampled (Bell, 1997). However, a site or sites may be selected for sampling when an operation that affects only part of an item, such as a carcass, is being investigated. Then, it is assumed that the selected site is representative of all the sites in the affected area (Gill et al., 1998b). Differences in the log mean numbers at the site before and after the operation therefore indicate the microbiological effects of the operation on the site; but they do not indicate the microbiological effects of the operation on the item as a whole, unless the total surface area or mass of the item is taken into account.

Fig. 6.3. Reference grid for the random selection of sites to be sampled on beef carcass sides.

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Sensory Perceptions and New Consumer Attitudes to Meat

D. Frank , ... J. Hughes , in New Aspects of Meat Quality, 2017

9 Comminuted chicken nuggets, beef burgers and sausages—is this the inevitable future of meat consumption?

In the United States, and in other comparable Western nations, the most familiar form of meat for many consumers is in ground or comminuted form; hamburgers, tacos, sausages, and nuggets. It is estimated that more than 60% of beef consumed in the United States is in ground form ( Close, 2014; Rutherford, 2014). Hamburger consumption increases unabated in the United States and elsewhere (Anon, 1997; NPDGroup, 2015). In many ways these forms of meat have lost the unique muscle structure and texture that only primal meat cuts can deliver. Apart from not having much resemblance to the whole animal muscle, these products often also contain considerable amounts of additional ingredients, which may include plant protein, nonmeat animal tissue, binders, fat, and carbohydrates (Mercola, 2011; deShazo et al., 2013). At what point do they become something other than meat? The deliberate substitution of meat by plant protein, fiber, and other beneficial ingredients has been described as a legitimate way to extend meat without compromising acceptability (Smil, 2013; Miller et al., 2014; Angiolillo et al., 2015). Apart from convenience factors, the popularity of comminuted products implies that consumers may not want to be reminded that they are eating the flesh of a slaughtered animal. In the long run, this may actually further promote meat and meat industry phobia. Eventually, it may become cheaper to circumvent the animal "protein factory" entirely and create highly acceptable laboratory produced meat or plant based versions of nuggets and burgers (Chapter 16).

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