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Wisconsin health department warns against eating 'cannibal sandwiches' over holidays

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Posted at 10:11 AM, Dec 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-15 12:11:38-05

Health officials in Wisconsin are warning against eating a traditional holiday dish called "cannibal sandwiches."

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the dish is raw, lean ground beef served on bread with sliced onions, salt and pepper. It's also sometimes known as "tiger meat" or "steak tartare."

"Many Wisconsin families consider them to be a holiday tradition, but eating them poses a threat for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter and Listeria bacteria that can make you sick," said the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in a Facebook post on Saturday.

The department added that ground beef should "ALWAYS" be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° F and that it doesn't matter where you buy the meat, it's still risky.

There have been eight outbreaks linked to eating a raw ground beef dish, including one large Salmonella outbreak that involved more than 150 people in Dec. 1994, according to the health department.

For more information, click here.

This story was originally published by staff at WTMJ.