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Safe
Temperature Chart Included!
Why Use a Food Thermometer?
"I want to keep my family safe."
"I used to overcook my food. Now my food is juicier
- not dry as a bone."
People all over the country are taking Thermy's advice.
They're using a food thermometer to check the temperature of
everyday foods — like hamburgers, pork chops, and chicken
breasts.
Most people think they know when food is "done" just
by "eyeballing it." They look at it and trust their
experience.
Experience is good, but it sometimes can be misleading. For
instance, cooking by color is definitely misleading. Meat color
— pink or brown — can fool you!
How do you know when your hamburger is cooked? Because it's
brown inside?
Think about this
1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown
in the middle BEFORE it has reached a safe internal temperature,
according to recent USDA research.
Use a food thermometer.
Keep your family safe.
Be a better cook.
Digital, Dial, & Disposable!
Thermometers are turning up everywhere in today's kitchens in
all shapes and sizes — digitals, instant-reads, probes
for the oven and microwave, disposable indicators and sensor
sticks, pop-ups, and even barbecue forks. They're high-tech
and easy to use.
Some thermometers are meant to stay in the food while it's cooking;
others are not. Some are ideal for checking thin foods, like
the digital. Others, like the large-dial thermometer many people
use, are really meant for large roasts and whole chickens and
turkeys.
Choose and use the one that is right for you!
- Dial Instant-Read
- Digital Instant-Read
- Disposable Temperature Indicators
- Fork
- Dial Oven-Safe
- Pop-Up
Why Is It Important?
These are the facts!
- Millions of people get sick from dangerous bacteria in
food every year.
- Public health data in 2000 show that there are more than
5 times the number of dangerous bacteria in our food than
we were aware of in 1942.
- Many people don't link their illness to foodborne bacteria.
They think they have a case of the flu.
- You can become sick anytime from 20 minutes to 6 weeks
after eating food with some types of harmful bacteria.
- Infants and young children, pregnant women, and older
adults are at greatest risk for foodborne illness, as are
all people with weakened immune systems caused by cancer
treatment, AIDS, diabetes, kidney disease, and organ transplants.
IT'S SAFE TO BITE WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS RIGHT!
Using a food thermometer is the only sure way of knowing if
your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy foodborne
bacteria.
Is it done yet?
Where is your food thermometer? |
TEMPERATURE RULES!
|
Food |
°F |
Ground
Meat & Meat Mixtures |
Beef, Pork, Veal,
Lamb |
160 |
Turkey, Chicken |
165 |
Fresh
Beef, Veal, Lamb |
Medium Rare |
145 |
Medium |
160 |
Well Done |
170 |
Poultry |
Chicken & Turkey,
whole |
165 |
Poultry breasts,
roast |
165 |
Poultry thighs,
wings |
165 |
Duck & Goose |
165 |
Stuffing (cooked
alone or in bird) |
165 |
Fresh
Pork |
160 |
Ham |
Fresh (raw) |
160 |
Pre-cooked (to
reheat) |
140 |
Eggs
& Egg Dishes |
Eggs |
Cook until yolk
& white are firm |
Egg dishes |
160 |
Leftovers
& Casseroles |
165 |
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Thermy is the messenger
of a national consumer education campaign of the USDA/FSIS designed
to promote the use of food thermometers.
www.fsis.usda.gov/thermy
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline
1-888-674-6854
(TTY: 1-800-256-7072)
Thermy Fights BAC!
Proper cooking is one of the four key steps for fighting BAC
— bacteria that can be found in food. Be a BAC-fighter.
Fight BAC!® is a food safety education campaign of the Partnership
for Food Safety Education. For more information, check the Web
site: www.fightbac.org
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Last Modified:
May 16, 2008 |
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