FMI Launches Labeling Program to Help Consumers Improve Food Safety
WASHINGTON, DC - The Food Marketing Institute announced today it has launched a labeling program urging consumers to cook hamburgers to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The launch comes just weeks after ConAgra Foods Inc. initiated the nation's second-largest recall of ground beef.
FMI is offering members labels for ground beef packages with the message "Cook to 160 Degrees to Kill Bacteria." Members can download high-resolution artwork to create their own labels from the FMI Web site. FMI is also inviting retailers to feature this message in ads, consumer brochures and recipes and on their Web sites.
"Across the nation this month, families are grilling millions of hamburgers," said Tim Hammonds, FMI's president and CEO. "We want to make sure families enjoy their meals in good health. The single, most important measure they can take is to cook hamburgers to 160 degrees -- and, just as important, confirm it with a thermometer."
FMI is offering members labels for ground beef packages with the message "Cook to 160 Degrees to Kill Bacteria." Members can download high-resolution artwork to create their own labels from the FMI Web site. FMI is also inviting retailers to feature this message in ads, consumer brochures and recipes and on their Web sites.
"Across the nation this month, families are grilling millions of hamburgers," said Tim Hammonds, FMI's president and CEO. "We want to make sure families enjoy their meals in good health. The single, most important measure they can take is to cook hamburgers to 160 degrees -- and, just as important, confirm it with a thermometer."