foodsafety.gov blog crosspost:
On May 24, the USDA made some important changes to the recommended cooking temperatures for meats. here’s what you need to know:
- Cooking Whole Cuts of Pork: The USDA has lowered the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160ºF to 145ºF with the addition of a rest time of three minutes. Cook pork, roasts, and chops to 145ºF as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from heat source, with a three-minute rest time before cutting or eating. This will result in a safe product of the best quality: juicy and tender.
- cooking whole cuts of other meats: for cuts of beef, veal, and lamb, the safe temperature remains unchanged at 145ºf, but the department has added a three-minute rest time as part of your cooking recommendations.
- Ground Meats: This change does not apply to ground meats, including beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which must be cooked to 160 ºf and do not require a rest time.
- Poultry: The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains the same at 165ºF.
- It is just as safe to cook pork cuts at 145ºF with a three-minute rest time as it is to cook them at 160ºF, the previously recommended temperature, with no rest time. The new cooking recommendations reflect the same standards the agency uses for cooked meat products produced in federally inspected meat establishments, which are based on a three-minute standing time to achieve a safe product.
- having a single combination of time and temperature for all meat will help consumers remember the temperature at which they can be sure the meat is safe to eat.
Which cooking temperatures did not change?
what is break time?
“Standing time” is the amount of time the product remains at the final temperature, after being removed from a grill, oven, or other heat source. for three minutes after the meat is removed from the heat source, its temperature remains constant or continues to rise, destroying harmful bacteria.
Why did the recommendations change?
How do you use a food thermometer?
Place the food thermometer in the thickest part of the food. it should not touch bone, fat or cartilage. start checking the temperature toward the end of cooking, but before you expect it to be done. be sure to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after each use.
To see where to place a food thermometer in different cuts of meat, see thermometer placement and temperatures. For more information on cooking temperatures for all types of foods, see the Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures chart.
If you have questions about cooking meat, feel free to contact us at the hotline (1-888-674-6854 toll-free) or online at ask usda.
