Food safety has been broken down into four fundamentals.
- Clean your hands and work surfaces frequently while cooking and preparing food, especially after handling raw meat and poultry.
- Separate raw meat, poultry and raw eggs from other foods in your grocery cart, in the fridge and on your prep surfaces to prevent cross contamination.
- Cook your food to a safe, internal temperature as indicated in the chart below. Once cooked, keep your food at a temperature of 140F or above or below 40F. Stay out of the danger zone which is between 40F-140F.
- Chill your food within two hours of cooking. Never thaw or marinate food on the counter.
Below are the safe minimum internal cooking temperatures per Foodsafety.gov
Ground Meat & Mixtures
Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb
160
Turkey, Chicken
165
Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb
Steaks, roasts, chops
145
* Let rest 3 minutes
Poultry
Chicken & Turkey, whole
165
Poultry breasts, roasts
165
Poultry thighs, legs, wings
165
Duck & Goose
165
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)
165
Pork & Ham
Fresh pork
145
* Let rest 3 minutes
Fresh ham (raw)
145
* Let rest 3 minutes
Precooked ham (to reheat)
140
Eggs & Egg Dishes
Eggs
Cook until yolk and white are firm
Egg dishes
160
Leftovers & Casseroles
Leftovers
165
Casseroles
165
Seafood
Fin Fish
145 or cook until flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork.
Shrimp, lobster, and crabs
Cook until flesh is pearly and opaque.
Clams, oysters, and mussels
Cook until shells open during cooking.
Scallops
Cook until flesh is milky white or opaque and firm.
For more information about food safety and to download the Foodkeeper app visit FoodSafety.gov.