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Publication #FCS8633

Food Safety: Cook It Safely!1

Jennifer Hillan2

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How can you reduce the risk of getting sick from bacteria in food? Cook food to a high enough temperature to kill the harmful bacteria! You can't just look at food to tell if it is safely cooked, so use a food thermometer. Cook foods to these safe temperatures:

(Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the food—away from bone, fat, and gristle.)

Table 1. 

Food

°F

Ground beef, pork, veal, lamb

160

Ground turkey, chicken

165

Fresh beef, veal, lamb—medium rare

145

Fresh beef, veal, lamb—medium

160

Fresh beef, veal, lamb—well done

170

Poultry

165

Fresh pork—medium

160

Fresh pork—well done

170

Ham—fresh, raw

160

Ham—pre-cooked (to reheat)

140

Eggs

cook until white & yolk are firm

Egg dishes

160

Fish

cook until opaque & flakes easily with a fork

Leftovers, stuffing, casseroles

165

Footnotes

1.

La versión en español de este documento es Cuidado de Alimentos:¡Cocine a la Temperatura Adecuada! (FCS8633-Span).This document is FCS8633, one in a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. First published: February 2000. Revised: August 2006. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Jennifer Hillan, MSH, RD, LD/N, ENAFS nutrition educator, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.