Meat Temperature Guide

Based on Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance. Always use a food thermometer to check the thickest part of the meat.

How to check if food is safe to eat

The guideline cooking times, methods and temperatures indicated on the product packaging or the food provider should result in a perfectly cooked result. Correct storage, for example refrigeration, is crucial for keeping fresh food such as meat from spoiling before its use-by date.

Using a food thermometer

Using a good quality food probe or meat thermometer is the best way to ensure that your food has reached a safe temperature for consumption. Insert the probe into the centre of the thickest part of the meat and leave in there for five seconds.

Keep this device in a drawer so it is protected from environmental factors such as heat and bacteria. Before and after each use, the food thermometer should be sanitised so no cross-contamination occurs. This also includes after each time it touches the food.

Use visual cues

For white meats such as chicken and turkey, the juices should run clear and there should be no pink meat. If you cut into the centre of the meat or sample a portion of a pie or lasagne from the middle, it should be steaming. With certain baked foods you can insert a knife and see that it is cooked if the knife is dry when removed. However, this does not work for foods that would expect to retain moisture.

Ensuring fish and seafood is safe to eat

Fish should not have any transparency when ready to eat, and most fish flesh would be white or another opaque colour such as pink. For crustaceans and molluscs, the shells open up during cooking. Any oysters, cockles and mussels with closed shells should be discarded.

Fish and seafood has another indicator of freshness; its smell. If you detect a stronger-than-usual fishy smell then this usually indicates that it is spoiled.