Food safety is a combination of temperature and time. The familiar “safe” numbers (74°C for poultry, 71°C for ground meat) are the temperatures where bacteria die almost instantly. Below them, the same kill happens if the meat holds that temperature long enough. This is how sous vide chicken at 63°C is safe, and it’s how you keep lean cuts juicy without gambling.
The short version
| What | Instant (no hold) | Juicier, with a hold |
|---|---|---|
| Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb | 71°C (160°F) | 63°C (145°F) held 5 minutes |
| Ground beef, pork, lamb | 71°C (160°F) | 63°C (145°F) held 5 minutes, through the centre |
| Chicken and turkey (whole, pieces, ground) | 74°C (165°F) | 65°C (149°F) held 6 minutes, or 63°C (145°F) held 13 minutes |
| Fish | 63°C (145°F) | See Fish |
| Reheated leftovers and casseroles | 74°C (165°F) | Don’t rely on a hold; reheat all the way |
Poultry needs longer than red meat at the same temperature. 63°C for 5 minutes is enough for beef, pork, and lamb, but poultry at 63°C needs 9 to 13 minutes. For poultry, 5 minutes works from about 65°C.
Doneness by cut
Target internal temperatures for texture, assuming the temperature is held (reached and maintained) for the time in the tables below. ⛔️ means not recommended for that cut, for safety or texture.
| Cut | Medium rare | Medium | Well | Fall-apart tender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken/turkey (white meat) | ⛔️ | 65°C | 70°C | ⛔️ |
| Chicken/turkey (dark meat) | ⛔️ | 68°C | 72°C | 80–85°C |
| Chicken (ground) | ⛔️ | 70°C | 80°C | ⛔️ |
| Pork (loin) | 60°C | 65°C | 75°C | ⛔️ |
| Pork (shoulder) | 60°C | 65°C | 75°C | 90–95°C |
| Pork (ground) | ⛔️ | 65°C | 75°C | ⛔️ |
| Beef (steak, roasts) | 57°C | 63°C | 70°C | ⛔️ |
| Beef (chuck) | 57°C | 63°C | 70°C | 90–95°C |
| Beef (ground) | ⛔️ | 63°C | 70°C | ⛔️ |
| Salmon (steaks) | 52°C | 60°C | 68°C | ⛔️ |
| Tuna (steaks) | 50–60°C | 63°C | 68°C | ⛔️ |
| Ground fish (all) | ⛔️ | 63°C | 70°C | ⛔️ |
| Shrimp | 60°C | 63°C | 68°C | ⛔️ |
- Doneness is a function of time and temperature. This chart aims for the best texture that is still safe, which means holding the stated temperature rather than just touching it. For beef, pork, and lamb, a 3–5 minute hold covers it. For poultry, check the hold time in the poultry table: white meat at 65°C needs about 5 minutes, while dark meat at 68°C and ground chicken at 70°C need only about a minute. These temperatures are lower than USDA and CFIA consumer recommendations, which assume no hold.
- Some cuts suit higher temperatures and longer cooks that soften and dissolve connective tissue (chuck roast, pork shoulder/butt). Others are better at rarer temperatures (bottom round roasts, loins, most steaks).
- Most meats should rest for about 5% of their cooking time to stay moist: steaks for 5 minutes, roasts for 10–20 minutes. For large cuts, the rest is also part of the hold.
- Most fish has little connective tissue and is best rare to medium. Fish and seafood don’t need a significant rest.
- Poultry can have streaks of red in the dark meat near the bone even when fully cooked. It’s pigment leached from the marrow through weak, broken, or cut bones, common in bone-in poultry that has been frozen. It’s safe and has no strong flavour, even if it looks unpleasant.
How it works
Cooking doesn’t sterilize meat; it reduces the bacteria by a set factor. The USDA standard for ready-to-eat poultry is a 7-log reduction of Salmonella (10 million to 1). For beef it’s 6.5-log. Each temperature has a time that achieves that reduction, and the time drops fast as the temperature climbs: roughly 20% less time for every extra degree Fahrenheit.
Fat protects bacteria slightly, so fattier meat (skin-on thighs, 70/30 ground) needs a little longer than lean breast at the same temperature.
Poultry
Time needed at temperature for a 7-log reduction of Salmonella (USDA FSIS). “Lean” is 2% fat (skinless breast); “fatty” is 10% fat (skin-on dark meat).
| Temperature | Chicken, lean | Chicken, fatty | Turkey, lean | Turkey, fatty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60.0°C (140°F) | 25.7 min | 32 min | 28.3 min | 31.5 min |
| 61.1°C (142°F) | 16.4 min | 21 min | 19 min | 21.7 min |
| 62.2°C (144°F) | 10.6 min | 13.9 min | 12.8 min | 15 min |
| 62.8°C (145°F) | 8.6 min | 11.3 min | 10.6 min | 12.4 min |
| 63.3°C (146°F) | 6.9 min | 9.1 min | 8.7 min | 10.2 min |
| 63.9°C (147°F) | 5.5 min | 7.4 min | 7.1 min | 8.4 min |
| 64.4°C (148°F) | 4.4 min | 5.8 min | 5.8 min | 6.8 min |
| 65.0°C (149°F) | 3.5 min | 4.6 min | 4.7 min | 5.4 min |
| 65.6°C (150°F) | 2.7 min | 3.5 min | 3.7 min | 4.3 min |
| 66.7°C (152°F) | 1.5 min | 1.9 min | 2.3 min | 2.5 min |
| 68.3°C (155°F) | 45 sec | 52 sec | 1.2 min | 1.3 min |
| 71.1°C (160°F) | 14 sec | 16 sec | 26 sec | 27 sec |
| 73.9°C (165°F) | under 10 sec | under 10 sec | under 10 sec | under 10 sec |
The source table is in Fahrenheit. If your reading falls between two rows, use the lower temperature’s (longer) time.
Beef, pork, and lamb
USDA FSIS guidance for cooked beef (6.5-log reduction of Salmonella): 60°C (140°F) held 12 minutes, or 63°C (145°F) held 4 minutes. USDA’s consumer guidance for whole cuts of beef, pork, and lamb is 63°C (145°F) with a 3-minute rest. This book rounds up to 5 minutes for margin.
Whole cuts are safe at lower temperatures (a rare steak) because bacteria live on the surface, and searing kills them. Ground meat mixes the surface into the middle, so the centre has to reach the temperature and hold it.
What “held” means
The hold only counts while the coldest part (the centre of the thickest piece) stays at or above the temperature. Check with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part, away from bone.
- Large pieces (roasts, whole birds, bone-in breasts) hold their temperature during a normal rest. A 10-minute rest after pulling a bone-in chicken breast at 65°C is a real hold.
- Thin pieces (patties, cutlets, strips, butterflied breasts) cool within a minute or two off the heat. Carry-over is only 1–2°C, not 5°C. See the next section for where to pull them.
- Sous vide is the easy way to use these tables: the water bath holds the temperature exactly. Add the time it takes the centre to come up to temperature.
The climb counts
The kill is cumulative. Every second the centre spends above about 55°C adds to it, so the last minutes in the pan and the carry-over during the rest are part of the hold, not separate from it. A 60°C second does about a seventh of the work of a 65°C second, and a 70°C second does about seven times more.
The catch is that the centre heats last. A patty that cooks 4 minutes a side has a hot surface for most of that time, but the centre only reaches its final temperature at the moment you pull it. It spends the cook climbing, not holding.
Modelled for a 7 mm turkey patty (centre climbing from 50°C over the last 1–3 minutes in the pan, 1°C of carry-over, then cooling), the share of the needed kill that the climb, carry-over and cooling deliver:
| Centre at pull | Share of the kill |
|---|---|
| 63°C (145°F) | 12–16% |
| 65°C (149°F) | 25–32% |
| 68°C (154°F) | 73–91% |
| 70°C (158°F) | 150–190% |
For thin pieces, that gives these pull temperatures, with a short rest:
- Chicken (cutlets, strips, butterflied or pounded breast, patties): 68°C (154°F).
- Turkey (patties, cutlets): 70°C (158°F).
- Ground beef, pork, lamb (patties): 68°C (154°F).
These sit 4–6°C below the instant numbers, and 5–6°C of doneness is the difference between dry and juicy for lean poultry. Going lower means a real hold in a low oven or a water bath, with the centre checked at the end.
Fish
Most fish is safe at 63°C (145°F). Fish served rare (tuna, salmon, sushi) is a parasite question, not a bacteria one. Use fish sold as previously frozen for raw use; freezing kills parasites, where a low cook doesn’t. “Sushi grade” is a marketing term with no legal definition.
Who should use the instant numbers
Use the no-hold column (74°C poultry, 71°C ground meat) when cooking for anyone pregnant, over 65, under 5, or immunocompromised. The margin of a precise hold depends on an accurate thermometer and on the centre really staying at temperature, and that’s not a risk worth taking for vulnerable guests.
Storage and leftovers
- Danger zone: 4–60°C (40–140°F). Don’t leave cooked food in it for more than 2 hours total.
- Cooling: get cooked food from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, then to 4°C within 4 more. Split big batches of stock, chili, or rice into shallow containers.
- Reheating: bring leftovers to 74°C (165°F) all the way through.
- Fresh salsas and dressings with raw onion, garlic, or herbs: 5–7 days in the fridge.
- Raw egg (Caesar dressing, homemade mayo): use pasteurized eggs for vulnerable guests, and use it within a few days.
Thermometer check
Everything above depends on your thermometer being accurate. Check it in a glass of ice water: stirred and well packed with ice, it should read 0°C. If it’s off by more than a degree, correct for it or replace it.
Sources
- USDA FSIS, Time-Temperature Tables for Cooking Ready-to-Eat Poultry Products (reproduced by RiverStone Health)
- USDA FSIS, Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A)