No matter what the beef industry does to fight E. coli and other pathogens — and right now that comes to $350 million annually in testing and sterilizing — experts contend that you just can’t get rid of all the E. coli that’s out there.
The 20 recalls of ground beef this year due to E. coli ties the record set in 2002, according to an article in the International Herald Tribune. Theories abound as to the causes, but according to Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, all the money in the world can’t guarantee contamination-free beef. In his words, it’s not about [the meatpackers'] will but about ability.
On the positive side, meats other than ground beef are a lot less likely to be contaminated. (The grinding of beef spreads whatever contamination there is throughout the meat.) Steaks would most likely only be contaminated on the surface, and that contamination is killed by direct exposure to heat.
Which brings us once again to the ultimate “truth” about E. coli. If consumers can only table their caveman instincts and not eat rare meat, they wouldn’t get sick. E. coli is killed at the recommended cooking temperature of 160 degrees. So, they’re not kidding when they say “well” done (or even medium well).