Concept · under Time and temperature
Cooking temperatures by food, with hold times
Poultry cooks to 165°F (74°C). Ground meat cooks to 155°F (68°C) and holds there 17 seconds. Steaks, chops and fish fillets need 145°F (63°C) for 15 seconds. Leftovers reheated for hot holding go back up to 165°F. Those are the FDA Food Code minimums, and on the test the hold time matters as much as the number.
- ExamPFH
- Questions here6
- UpdatedOct 14, 2026
On this page 4 sections
The cooking temperature chart
| Food | °F | °C | Hold it there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poultry of any kind; stuffed meat, fish, poultry or pasta; stuffing that contains meat, fish or poultry | 165 | 74 | Under 1 second |
| Ground or chopped meat and fish, injected meat, ostrich and emu, eggs cooked to be held hot | 155 | 68 | 17 seconds |
| Steaks, chops, fish fillets, an egg cracked to order and served right away | 145 | 63 | 15 seconds |
| Whole roasts of beef, pork or lamb | 130–145 | 54–63 | 112 minutes at 130°F, down to 4 minutes at 145°F |
| Any raw animal food cooked in a microwave | 165 | 74 | Stir or turn it, cover it, let it stand covered 2 minutes |
| Vegetables, rice or beans cooked to be held hot | 135 | 57 | Reach it, then hold it |
| Cooked and cooled food reheated for hot holding | 165 | 74 | 15 seconds, and 41°F to 165°F in 2 hours or less |
| Factory-packaged ready-to-eat food reheated for hot holding | 135 | 57 | Reach it within 2 hours |
Celsius figures are rounded. The roast chart has more steps between 130°F and 145°F; your kitchen's roast recipe will name one.
Where the chart gets tricky
Ground turkey is the classic mix-up. It's ground, so 155°F looks right, but it's poultry, and poultry is 165°F in any shape. Stuffing works the same way: a pork loin rolled around a bread stuffing cooks to 165°F, even though the loin alone would only need 145°F.
The code says every part of the food has to reach the number, so when you probe, the reading that counts comes from the thickest part, away from bone. A probe thermometer has to be accurate to ±2°F (FDA Food Code 2022, 4-203.11). Take it from the center of a burger, not from the edge that's been sitting on the flat-top.
A microwave changes the rule. Raw animal food cooked in one goes to 165°F whatever it is, so a pork chop that would need 145°F on the grill needs 165°F in the microwave, plus the stir, the cover and the 2-minute stand (3-401.12).
Reheating has its own lane. Last night's braised short rib headed for the steam table has to reach 165°F for 15 seconds, and the trip from the walk-in's 41°F up to 165°F gets 2 hours at most (3-403.11). After that it holds at 135°F, the number on hot and cold holding. Cooked food that isn't going out hot goes the other way, through two-stage cooling.
Every minimum here gets food hot enough, for long enough, to kill what grew while it sat in the temperature danger zone. Color, juices and resting time don't figure in. The probe reading does.
Probe these
Match the food to its number. The notes explain each wrong number too.
Each question is a chit, an order ticket. Answer it and it flips to show why every option is right or wrong.
No. 01
What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for ground beef to ensure food safety?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 01
- A
165°F (74°C) 165°F is the poultry and reheating number; ground beef is safe there, but the minimum is lower.
- B
145°F (63°C) 145°F for 15 seconds covers whole steaks and chops, not ground beef, where surface germs are mixed through.
- C
135°F (57°C) 135°F is for hot holding and plant foods, not raw ground meat.
- D
155°F (68°C) Correct: Grinding spreads surface bacteria through the meat, so ground beef must reach 155°F and stay there for 17 seconds.
- A
No. 02
What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for whole poultry?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 02
- A
155°F (68°C) 155°F is for ground and injected meats, not poultry.
- B
145°F (63°C) 145°F is for whole cuts of beef and pork and for fish, too low for poultry.
- C
135°F (57°C) 135°F is the hot-holding minimum, far below what raw chicken needs.
- D
165°F (74°C) Correct: All poultry, whole, ground, or stuffed, must reach 165°F, which kills Salmonella and Campylobacter instantly.
- A
No. 03
How quickly must hot foods be reheated for hot holding?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 03
- A
Within 2 hours Correct: Food reheated for hot holding has to climb to 165°F within 2 hours, so it doesn't linger in the danger zone.
- B
Within 3 hours Three hours is too long; reheating has to be done within 2 hours.
- C
Within 1 hour Faster is fine, but the Food Code limit is 2 hours, not 1.
- D
Within 4 hours Four hours keeps food in the danger zone far too long during reheating.
- A
No. 04
What is the minimum internal temperature when reheating previously cooked foods for hot holding?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 04
- A
135°F (57°C) 135°F is the hot-holding minimum after reheating, not the reheating target.
- B
145°F (63°C) 145°F is a cooking temperature for whole cuts and fish, not for reheating.
- C
165°F (74°C) Correct: Cooked and cooled food reheated for hot holding must reach 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours.
- D
155°F (68°C) 155°F is the cooking minimum for ground meat, not the reheating standard.
- A
No. 05
What should be done with partially cooked foods that will be finished later?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 05
- A
Hold at room temperature Room temperature leaves partly cooked food in the danger zone, where germs that survived the first heating can grow.
- B
Leave under heat lamps Heat lamps may not keep food at 135°F, and partly cooked food isn't ready to serve.
- C
Immediately cool and refrigerate Correct: Partly cooked food is cooled right away under the same 2-hour and 6-hour cooling limits, then cooked fully to its required temperature before serving.
- D
Keep in a warm oven A warm oven can hold food at danger-zone temperatures for hours.
- A
No. 06
A line cook is grilling salmon fillets for dinner service. What minimum internal temperature must the fish reach?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 06
- A
135°F (57°C) for 15 seconds 135°F is the hot-holding minimum, not a cooking temperature for raw fish.
- B
145°F (63°C) for 15 seconds Correct: fish fillets must reach 145°F (63°C) for 15 seconds.
- C
155°F (68°C) for 17 seconds 155°F for 17 seconds is the rule for ground meat, not for fish fillets.
- D
165°F (74°C) for under 1 second 165°F is the poultry number, which is higher than fish requires.
- A
Nothing matches both filters. Clear one of them.
Where these numbers come from
- FDA Food Code 2022 — 3-401.11 raw animal foods, 3-401.12 microwave, 3-401.13 plant foods, 3-403.11 reheating, 4-203.11 thermometers checked Oct 13, 2026