USDA-based · Sean Bernath · How this page was made · Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · Sources ↓
Color is not doneness. Use a thermometer.
Use a food thermometer. Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal: 145°F, then rest 3 minutes. Fish with fins: 145°F (or opaque and flakes). Ground beef, pork, lamb, veal: 160°F. Eggs: 160°F. All poultry, ground or whole: 165°F. Leftovers and casseroles: 165°F. Fully cooked ham from a USDA-inspected plant: reheat to 140°F; all other cooked ham: 165°F. Color and texture are not proof, except seafood’s visual cue on the CDC page.
This is a cook table, not a storage-duration table. The only reliable check for most foods is a thermometer.
Why a thermometer
CDC (Four Steps to Food Safety): the only way to tell if food is safely cooked is to use a food thermometer. You cannot tell by color and texture — except for seafood, where CDC allows the opaque-and-flakes visual cue alongside temperature. Pink pork or clear chicken juices are not federal doneness tests.
Pathogens that cause illness do not always change the color of meat. Cooking to the listed internal temperature is the control; guessing from appearance is not.
Minimum internal temperatures (FSIS + CDC)
- Beef, pork, lamb, veal — steaks, chops, roasts: 145°F, then rest at least 3 minutes.
- Fish with fins: 145°F, or cook until flesh is opaque and flakes easily.
- Ground beef, pork, lamb, veal: 160°F.
- Eggs: 160°F.
- All poultry (ground or whole, including stuffing): 165°F.
- Leftovers and casseroles: 165°F.
- Ham: fresh or smoked (uncooked) 145°F with 3-minute rest; fully cooked ham from a USDA-inspected plant reheated to 140°F; all other cooked ham reheated to 165°F.
FSIS steps-keep-food-safe cooking table also lists fish & shellfish, any type: 145°F. More detailed shellfish-specific cues on the FoodSafety.gov safe-minimum cooking chart are UNKNOWN here — that chart returned HTTP 403 and was not copied. See the FoodSafety.gov cooking chart directly if you need shellfish detail beyond FSIS’s any-type line.
Where to put the probe
Measure in the thickest part of the meat, not touching bone, fat, or the pan. For ground products and poultry stuffing, check more than one spot — cold centers happen. In a microwave, cover, rotate, and verify temperature in several places after a short rest (FSIS leftovers / steps-keep-food-safe).
Rest time is part of the cook
For whole cuts at 145°F, the 3-minute rest is part of the FSIS instruction, not optional plating theater. Temperature can continue to equalize during the rest. Do not carve immediately and call it done if you have not hit 145°F yet.
Reheating leftovers
Leftovers still need 165°F — sauces, soups, and gravies to a rolling boil. Details: leftovers reheat rule. Reheating does not undo time spent in the danger zone before the food was chilled.
What this page does not do
It does not replace fridge and freezer storage windows on food pages. Undercooked food is a cooking problem; food left out too long is a chilling problem. Both matter, and fixing one does not fix the other.
Sources
- CDC: Four Steps to Food Safety — CDC, 2026
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety — USDA FSIS, 2026
- USDA FSIS: Keep Food Safe! Food Safety Basics — USDA FSIS, 2024
- USDA FSIS: "Danger Zone" (40°F–140°F) — USDA FSIS, 2026