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Safe cooking of meat

What is the issue?

Some meats are safe to eat rare or raw, while others need longer/hotter cooking to destroy any pathogens (bugs) such as Campylobacter and Salmonella that may be present. While meat can never be considered 100% free from pathogens, careful handling can reduce the risk of illness. This fact sheet outlines which meats are Okay to serve rare and how you can handle the less safe meats to reduce your risk of illness.

(Note: For someone with low immunity, or who is pregnant, very young or frail, then all meat types and cuts are potentially risky and these people should not eat raw or rare meat. For more information see the NZFSA publication Food Safety when you have low immunity and Food Safety In Pregnancy.)

What can go wrong?

Meat may become contaminated with bacteria or viruses during slaughter or processing of the animal, or from poor kitchen or personal hygiene. Significant pathogens carried on meat include Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens and Yersinia enterocolitica. These cause mild to severe stomach upsets with a range of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dizziness etc. In some people these may be life threatening or have lasting consequences.

While cooking destroys most pathogens, careless handling of meat at any stage can still make it unsafe to eat. For example, if meat is not kept chilled after purchase, or not cooked to a high enough temperature then S. aureus survives and multiplies, releasing toxins which are not destroyed by subsequent cooking. And when meat products are cooled slowly (eg, large pots of stew or gravy left to cool on the stove), spores of C. perfringens activate and produce more bacteria.

If pathogens are present in meat, they are very easily transferred to prepared foods or surfaces via drips, unwashed hands and utensils etc.

How can I tell if meat is contaminated?

Pathogens are invisible to the naked eye and most often there are no visible signs (or smells) to show that meat has been contaminated.

‘Safe’ meats to serve rare

In general, flat or whole cuts of red meat (beef, lamb, venison) such as steak, chops or whole roasts are safe to serve rare because pathogens are usually restricted to the outer surface and searing the outside destroys them. Curved pieces that don’t touch the hot pan evenly need longer or hotter cooking.

‘Less-safe’ meats - cook thoroughly

Meats that are less safe to eat raw or rare tend to be processed, or those that have spaces where pathogens can be trapped and multiply. These meats need higher cooking temperatures and/or longer cooking times so that heat penetrates right through to the core of the product to kill pathogens.

Less safe meats include:

• minced raw meat and meat preparations (eg, sausages, patties)

• whole cuts of meat with cavities (eg, whole poultry)

• products that have been de-boned, rolled or stuffed

• re-formed steaks or products with marinades injected into them (including hams)

• cuts of varying thickness (eg, chicken drumsticks)

• offal such as livers.

If the meat juice runs clear, is it cooked enough?

YES for ‘safe’ meats. NO for ‘less safe’ meats.

For ‘safe’ meats, so long as the outside is seared until it changes colour, there is very little risk from eating the piece rare while the juice is pink. For steak, this represents approximately two and a half minutes on each side.

For ‘less safe’ meats, colour change is not a reliable indicator that cooking has rendered the core hot enough to make it safe. Some storage conditions may lead to the meat appearing cooked even though the core has not heated up enough to kill pathogens (a condition known as premature browning). This may develop if meat is stored in high-oxygen modified atmosphere packaging, or from prolonged thawing, being frozen in bulk or from the addition of preserving salts.

Using a food thermometer is the only effective way to know if the core has reached a temperature that kills pathogens.

How can I tell if less safe meats are thoroughly cooked?

Thorough cooking of meat is most accurately measured by using a food thermometer. The thermometer should penetrate the thickest part of the food. For a meat loaf or a casserole, it would be in the centre. The following are time-temperature combinations for different types of meat product.

Poultry and stuffed meat

For poultry and stuffed meat etc, NZFSA recommends cooking until the centre of the thickest part of the meat or the core of stuffed meat reaches one of these temperature/time combinations:

65ºC for 10 minutes

70ºC for 2 minutes

75ºC instant

Mince, sausages, processed meat

Minced (ground) meat and sausages may need a digital instant-read food thermometer towards the end of the cooking time. For patties, insert it at least 1cm into the thickest part. If the patty is not thick enough to check from the top, the thermometer should be inserted sideways. If uncertain about the temperature reading, take a reading in a second location. Also, make sure the pan is heating evenly.

The time-temperature recommendations for minced products and sausages varies so until there is consistent scientific data to show otherwise, we recommended these should also be cooked until the core temperature has reached 74°C, held for at least 15 seconds.

Long, slow cooking of the safer meats – what temperature/time?

Even for generally safe types of meat such as whole roasts, some guidance is needed to ensure the low temperature and cooking time combinations are sufficient to kill pathogens on the outer surface. Red meat roasts such as beef, corned beef (silverside), lamb, pork and cured pork joints eg, ham can be cooked at lower temperatures than minced products and a thermometer may be useful to periodically check the internal temperature throughout the cooking process.

The time-temperature recommendations for long, slow cooking varies so until there is consistent scientific data to show otherwise, we recommended whole cuts should also be cooked until the core temperature has reached 74°C, held for at least 15 seconds. For poultry see the recommended time/temperature combinations here.

How can I handle raw meat safely?

Remember that raw meat may contain pathogens and needs to be handled carefully. Follow the four Cs - Clean, Cook, Cover, Chill:

Clean

• wash and dry your hands, surfaces and utensils before handling raw meat, and afterwards

• use designated boards and utensils for preparing raw meats. Ready-to-eat foods (eg, salad) which will be eaten raw or lightly cooked should never be prepared with items that have been contaminated by meat

• take extra care not to splash juice from meat packages that hold a lot of liquid eg, silverside, corned beef, picked pork, poultry

Cook

• use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature for the meats that are considered less safe. Colour is not a reliable indicator that it is cooked enough. Clean the thermometer after each test

• ensure you do not re-contaminate the cooked meat with drips or unwashed hands or equipment

Cover

• keep raw meat covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge so that it does not drip on to other foods.

Chill

• refrigerate your meat purchases as soon as possible (within two hours)

• thawing generates more liquid than fresh meat.

Updated October 2009