An apparatus and method for ensuring bacteriological safety in the fast food production of hamburgers and other protein of farinaceous food articles. The present invention is directed toward a method and apparatus for transferring heat to food articles, and is particularly adapted for cooking and/or holding previously cooked food articles quite near to a preferred and precise internal temperature for prolonged time periods and can be employed to initially cook food articles or to complete the cooking of food articles that have been previously cooked and to stage same for prolonged time periods at optimum product quality and at a precise internal product temperature within the narrow equilibration range of U 2 degree F, thereby assuring precision, time- and temperature-related, pathogenic risk management and food safety for public consumption. The apparatus provides a precise, uniform thermalizing process designed to achieve consistent repetition of internal temperature equilibration within the narrow internal product temperature range of U 2 degree F, in either frozen fresh, precooked or refrigerated fresh hamburger patties, and provides a means of thawing or cooking food articles at less than 212 degree F and/or for holding the patties and/or other food articles (which may be encased in suitable plastic packages) for prolonged time periods at an equilibrated, safe internal temperature range, selectable between 130 and 185 degree F, which temperature range is optional and maintained in order to provide bacteriological food safety by achieving 99.999 percent thermal lethality of trace pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli 0157:H7 potentially present in ground meat articles such as beef or chicken patties.
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