Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Maple Mustard Sauce
If an experienced eye is all you use to tell if meat, poultry, or egg dishes are cooked to a safe temperature, you're putting yourself and your family at risk of food-borne illnesses.
Using a food thermometer is the only way to know if your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy harmful bacteria.
The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has evaluated safe cooking temperatures for a variety of foods. Here are its recommendations:
| Food | Safe Cooking Temperatures |
| Ground Meat | |
| Beef, pork, veal, lamb | 160 degrees |
| Poultry | 165 degrees |
| Beef, Veal, Lamb (whole cuts) | |
| Medium-rare | 145 degrees |
| Medium | 160 degrees |
| Well-done | 170 degrees |
| Poultry | |
| Whole birds | 180 degrees |
| Breasts | 170 degrees |
| Legs, thighs, wings | 180 degrees |
| Pork (fresh) | |
| Medium | 160 degrees |
| Well-done | 170 degrees |
| Ham | |
| Fresh | 160 degrees |
| Cooked | 140 degrees |
| Fish and Shellfish | 145 degrees (at least for 15 sec) |
| Egg dishes | 160 degrees |
| Other | |
| Casseroles, combination dishes, stuffing, stews, leftovers | 165 degrees |
Source:
Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2003
From: The Mayo Clinic and Food & Nutrition Center
Trial Administration