There is a constant drumbeat of warnings about food to avoid, for
example raw eggs and oysters, meat which has not been cooked to near
destruction, fish which may contain mercury and so on. Yet the odd
thing is that nowhere have I found a warning against pre-ground meat
although in the stories one reads it often seems to be ecoli infected
hamburger which is being recalled.

I've looked (not too diligently, I admit) for stats on the subject but
they seem rather thin on the ground and often are agenda driven, for
example linking an increase in genetically modified foods to an
increase in the incidence of food poisoning. But overall the problem
seems to be quite minor, with about 5,000 deaths annually in the US,
compared to about 40,000 road deaths (with presumably an even larger
number of serious injuries).

So I've decided to maintain the practices of a lifetime and continue to
eat eggs, beef and seafood all the way from raw to well done, but to
continue to cook chicken and pork to the recommended minimum
temperatures. And to be sure to fasten my seat belt.