> From:    Paleo Phil <[log in to unmask]>
> What do you feel about the USDA's recommendation that meat be first heated
> to 160 degrees F before dehydrating

> From:    william <[log in to unmask]>
> This is so wrong that I hardly know where to start.
> Anyway, the USDA loves us not. The USDA loves the rich and shameless who
> control agribusiness.
> Heating food above 104F destroys enzymes which are necessary for
> healthy life.

If you read carefully, the USDA contradicts itself:
>  maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature of
> 130 to 140F during the drying process is important because:
>    * the process must be fast enough to dry food before it spoils; and
>    * it must remove enough water that microorganisms are unable to grow

So, if maintaining that temp dries food before it spoils, and removes enough 
water that
microorganisms are unable to grow (the difference between those two 
statements
escapes me), why heat it more? If bacteria can't grow, they can't grow. 
Another point:
meat itself is nearly sterile. Only if you are using meat contaminated by 
fecal material will
there be "pathogens" on it in the first place. Even so, the pathogens will 
be on the surface
and most can be readily rinsed off. Assuming you subscribe to the germ 
theory of disease.

--Carrie