The U.S. Department of Agriculture's food safety fact sheets say restaurants should cook ground beef to at least 155 degrees, with the meat being mostly gray inside. It adds that color is not always a good indicator of doneness, because really lean ground beef might remain pink at temperatures above 160 degrees, and other beef may look brown and fully cooked before it reaches the proper temperature. In fact, according to USDA research, one in every four hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature.

The various temperature charts I've checked say that 155-160 degrees is considered "medium-well" to "well-done" for beef.

The National Bison Association's Web site says bison should be cooked to the same temperature as beef, but it cautions against overcooking.

Jacob Schmidt of the Utah Beef Council says the beef industry recommends cooking ground beef to 160 degrees, "to err on the side of caution," and that using a meat thermometer is the best way to make sure.

"Ground beef is very deceiving in looks. You can still have a burger that isn't pink anymore that isn't up to temp. And there may be a sauce or additives that could make it look raw or more done," he said. "Temping is the only way to be sure."

He added that some fast-food restaurants are set up so that they know the uniform thickness of the beef patty, the temperature of their grill and how long each patty should be cooked to be sure it's done. And their patties are quite thin. But restaurants with thick burgers, and those of us cooking burgers at home, probably need to check the temperature of each patty.

Also, although knowing about your source of meat is great, it doesn't guarantee freedom from any possible contamination.

"It's a food-safety issue, not a food source issue," said Schmidt. "It can be organic, natural, or conventional, but it still has the potential to have surface bacteria that can be incorporated in the ground meat. It's still a risk. It's like eating cookie dough with raw egg in it."

So, the burgers discussed earlier may have been perfectly safe to eat, even if they looked pink on the inside; it's the temperature that matters. I also learned that there are a lot of folks out there who want a juicy burger, even if it means a red center. And you are all entitled to order it that way. But, I prefer to be on the safe side and order mine well-done, even if it means it's going to be a little more dry. After all, that's what ketchup is for.

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E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com