"Dirty" Patties

Last week in Ag. Science, the class grilled hamburgers. No, they didn't get to eat them, but instead tested them for bacteria. The class grilled four hamburgers of the same shape and weight, but cooked them all at different temperatures. Before they began cooking, the students used a swab to obtain a control sample, and placed it in a petri dish. For a hamburger to be considered done it needs to be cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees. The temperature of a raw hamburger is 120 degrees. Once each hamburger was cooked to its designated temperature, the students split the burger in half and swabbed the inside. Then they placed the swab into a petri dish.

The students don't know the results yet, but senior Ryan Effling said, "I expect the hamburger cooked to the lowest temp would contain the least amount of bacteria."