Safe Internal Temperatures: What Official Sources Say

Food safety bodies publish a minimum internal temperature for each kind of meat. The number depends on the meat and, for some, on how it's cut or ground. A probe can read the temperature, but only an official source says what that temperature should be.

The figures below are from Health Canada, a national agency. Other countries publish their own tables, and some figures differ. Use the table from the agency that covers where you live and cook.

Why there's a minimum

The point of reaching a set internal temperature is to kill pathogens, the germs that can cause foodborne illness¹. A probe's job is to confirm that the center of the food has reached that figure. This is why placement and accuracy matter.

Health Canada's cooking temperatures

These are the figures on the Health Canada page, checked 2026-11-08².

The same page lists a separate figure for mechanically tenderized beef and veal, and a set of game meats². Read the full chart on the agency's own page for those.

How the chart says to measure

The same page gives placement steps, which the placement page summarizes. It also covers cleaning the thermometer before each use².

What differs from country to country

Cooking temperature tables aren't identical worldwide. Government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere publish their own. Some use a single figure for a meat, some give a range, and some give a time at a lower temperature. This site doesn't repeat those tables because it hasn't saved them as sources.

To find yours, search for your national food safety agency's page on safe cooking temperatures, or the equivalent page from your state or local health department. Take figures only from an official body, not from a grill's recipe card, a forum or a video.

Preset temperatures on a device

Some probes and apps have buttons for a type of meat, such as "poultry" or "beef medium". Those presets are set by the maker. A meat thermometer can carry markings for each kind of meat and degree of doneness¹. Check what number a preset uses against your agency's table, and treat the table as the authority.

Dial and pop-up devices

Not every meat thermometer is equal. One source says bimetal coil thermometers and pop-up devices are the least reliable types and should not be trusted as a standalone meat thermometer¹. A digital probe, read in the right spot, gives a number you can compare with the chart.

Doneness versus safety

Some preferences, like medium-rare beef, sit lower than the figure for other cuts. The chart above shows 63°C (145°F) for medium-rare whole cuts of beef, veal and lamb, and that's the figure on that page². Ground meat has a different, higher figure. If you're unsure which applies, follow your agency's guidance.

If the meat is for someone with a health concern, ask a doctor or your health agency. This site doesn't give medical advice.