The Ultimate Safe Meat Cooking Temperature Chart for Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and More
You may be surprised to hear that the FDA estimates there are around 48 million cases of food poisoning every year. That means you have a 1 in 6 chance to become ill by foodborne disease in the US. Most people will have mild to moderate cases and recover in a couple days but over 100,000 people with food poisoning require hospitalization. Severe foodborne illness even causes around 3,000 deaths per year in America. To avoid the risk of food poisoning you should avoid eating raw fish, raw clams, undercooked meat or food that has been left out of refrigeration for more than an hour.
This food temperature safety chart from the team at howtocook.recipes shows the proper cook temps for many different types of food. Many people enjoy rare steak and even the proper temperature to cook a medium-rare steak is under the recommended temperature of 145 degrees. Lower temperatures for rare to medium-rare meat are not recommended by the USDA. These temperatures are considered the "danger zone" for food and are a breeding ground for bad bacteria. The safest way to cook food is to stick to the temperatures listed on this chart to avoid major foodborne illness.