Food Safety Temperature Calculator
Look up safe minimum internal cooking temperatures for chicken, beef, pork, fish, and eggs per USDA guidelines.
Enter current temp to check doneness.
Cooking temperature kills bacteria. The USDA sets minimum safe internal temperatures based on the time required to eliminate pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli at a given heat level. These are the temperatures a food thermometer should read at the thickest part, away from bone.
USDA minimum safe temperatures:
- Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck): 165°F / 74°C — no resting time needed, but 3 minutes improves texture
- Ground meat (beef, pork, lamb): 160°F / 71°C — pathogens distributed throughout grind, so no pink is safe
- Whole beef / lamb steaks and roasts: 145°F / 63°C + 3 minutes rest
- Whole pork: 145°F / 63°C + 3 minutes rest (this changed from 160°F in 2011)
- Fish and shellfish: 145°F / 63°C
- Ham (raw): 145°F / 63°C + 3 minutes
- Ham (precooked, reheating): 140°F / 60°C
- Egg dishes and casseroles: 160°F / 71°C
- Leftovers: 165°F / 74°C
The resting time matters. During the 3-minute rest after reaching the target, the food continues to cook internally and pathogens are destroyed even as the surface cools slightly. Cutting into meat immediately loses juices and voids the rest time benefit.
Ground meat is a special case. Whole muscle cuts can have bacteria only on the surface — searing the outside kills them even if the center is pink. Ground meat mixes surface bacteria throughout, so the entire mass needs to reach the safe temperature.
Use a probe thermometer, not a visual check. Color is unreliable — poultry can be safe but still look slightly pink near the bone.