Why Does USDA Recommend Using a Food Thermometer?
By Diane Van, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
Because you can't tell if food has reached a safe internal temperature just by looking at it.
Is it done yet? How do you know when your hamburger is done? Because it's brown in the middle? Looking at the color of the food is not enough—you have to use a food thermometer to be sure.
![Food thermometer and chicken breasts in skillet](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121016165406im_/http://www.foodsafety.gov/images/blog_thermometer.jpg)
According to USDA research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown in the middle before it has reached a safe internal temperature. The only way to be sure food is safely cooked is to use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
Because it helps you to avoid overcooking.
Using a food thermometer not only keeps you safe from harmful food bacteria but it also helps you to avoid overcooking, keeping it juicy and flavorful.
Because it reduces the risk of foodborne illness.
Just like washing your hands before you prepare a meal, you should get into the habit of checking the internal temperature of food, especially meat, poultry and egg dishes. Using a food thermometer is the only sure way of knowing if your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy foodborne bacteria.
Tips for using a food thermometer
- Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature toward the end of the cooking time, but before the food is expected to be done.
- Insert the food thermometer into the thickest part of the food, making sure it doesn't touch bone, fat or gristle.
- Compare your thermometer reading to the Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures chart to determine if your food has reached a safe temperature.
- Make sure to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after each use.
Thermometers come in all shapes and sizes—digital probes for the oven and microwave, dial oven-safe and even disposable temperature indicators. For more information about the different types of thermometers and how to use them, check our fact sheet on Kitchen Thermometers.
Where is your food thermometer? Pushed to the back of the utensil drawer until Thanksgiving? I encourage you to use it whenever you’re cooking meat, poultry, and even egg dishes. It's the only reliable way to make sure you are preparing a safe and delicious meal for your family.
Remember, “It’s Safe to Bite When the Temperature’s Right!
If you have questions about using a food thermometer, feel free to submit them here. But, if you need an answer quickly, one of the following is your best bet:
- Phone: Call USDA's toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854).
- Online: Use our automated system, Ask Karen, to search our knowledgebase, submit a question, or participate in live chat.
- Email: Send your question to mphotline.fsis@usda.gov.
Questions and Answers
Q. How do you use a food thermometer with a shallow-tray frozen dinner, like a TV dinner?
A. If you are preparing a frozen dinner in a shallow tray, be sure to follow the cooking instructions on the product label. If you are using a microwave oven, observe the "standing time" indicated in the instructions, since cooking continues and is completed during standing time.
There are different types of food thermometers. Some thermometers are designed to better measure the temperature in thicker food products (such as a dial thermometer) and others are designed to better measure the temperature in shallow food products (such as a digital thermometer). Before using a food thermometer, read the thermometer manufacturer's instructions. The instructions can tell you how far the thermometer must be inserted in a food item to give an accurate reading. Most digital thermometers will read the temperature in a small area of the tip so they may work with thin foods or foods in a shallow tray.
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I actually used to work in venture capital and saw some really interesting technologies that could be adopted for cheap to track temperature changes on chicken throughout the entire product lifecycle from packaging to retail. Unfortunately never of it was actually implemented to my knowledge. The guy I know that started the company tried to raise money from VC firms like us, then gave up and started some other eCommerce sites. It's just ashame that such good and useful technologies go to waste because huge companies like Tyson don't want to pay the extra $.10 a package to ensure that the chicken maintained an acceptable temperature throughout the supply chain.
Food Thermometer!! Its very interesting and I've never heard of it in our country. But great thought
Useing a food thermometer will not work properly with shallow tray, frozen, "tv dinners." The only option is to nearlt incinerate the food. What do you suggest? Why not use irradiation technology which has been around for many years? This was deemed safe many years ago.