A food thermometer helps you know that your food is fully cooked.
Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures
Use the chart below and a food thermometer to ensure that meat, poultry, seafood, and other cooked foods reach a safe minimum internal temperature. Remember, you can't tell whether meat is safely cooked by looking at it. Any cooked, uncured red meats - including pork - can be pink, even when the meat has reached a safe internal temperature.
Why the Rest Time is Important
After you remove meat from a grill, oven, or other heat source, allow it to rest for the specified amount of time. During the rest time, its temperature remains constant or continues to rise, which destroys harmful germs.
The following table is from the US Dept. of Agriculture fact sheet, "Using a Food Thermometer." Check out the new brochure "Is It Done Yet?" and learn more at FSIS.USDA.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/kitchen-thermometers.
Contact
Rebecca Polmateer
Program Director
[email protected]
(518) 622-9820 x117
Last updated December 4, 2023
Using Kitchen Thermometers
Fight Bac
Learn more about food safety from the Partnership for Food Safety Education at www.fightbac.org.