How did the Thermy campaign get started?
A. Important research prompted this educational campaign by FSIS. The research underscored the fallibility of traditional consumer methods for determining when food is “done.” In 1995, a study by Kansas State University indicated that ground beef might turn brown before it’s cooked to a safe internal temperature, sufficient to destroy potentially dangerous bacteria. With that information in hand, FSIS commissioned the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to examine the color of ground beef as it relates to doneness. Their 1998 findings: one out of every four hamburgers turns brown before being cooked to a safe internal temperature. FSIS knew then that it needed to take action to change consumer behavior and encourage thermometer use.
