Millions of people buy ground beef every week. It’s familiar, often affordable, and versatile enough to work in a wide range of meals. We check the sell-by date, give the meat a quick look, and move on. Now food scientists are saying it’s worth pausing a little longer to inspect the ground beef more carefully. Some of the most important safety clues have nothing to do with the color of the meat or the date on the package. The red flag that most shoppers miss is damaged packaging, a tear in the cellophane or a leaky container. That’s how pathogens can escape and contaminate everything else in your grocery cart, while bacteria from the outside can make their way into the package. Unlike whole steak or roast, ground beef is processed in a way that makes it uniquely vulnerable. When beef is ground, any bacteria that’s on the surface gets mixed throughout the meat, increasing the risk of contamination.
