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Safe cooking temperatures poster for commercial kitchens.
The internal temperatures food has to reach to be safe, held for at least 15 seconds, checked with a probe thermometer. Poultry, meat, fish, and mixtures, all on one page. Print it and post it on the line.
How to use the poster
Food must be cooked thoroughly to destroy the bacteria naturally present in it. Different foods have different safe temperatures, and the only way to know you have hit them is a probe thermometer in the thickest part. The safe temperature has to be reached and held for at least 15 seconds. Colour is not a temperature.
Poultry and mixtures
- Whole poultry, cook to 82°C
- Poultry pieces or ground poultry, 74°C
- Food mixtures with poultry, eggs, meat, or fish, 74°C
Meat and fish
- Ground meat that is not poultry, 71°C
- Pork and pork products, 71°C
- Fish and seafood, 70°C
How to check
- Use a probe thermometer in the thickest part, not on bone
- Hold the safe temperature for at least 15 seconds
- Reheat to at least the original temperature, poultry to 74°C
- Keep food out of the danger zone, 4°C to 60°C
Download the cooking temperatures poster
Free, one page, letter size. All six categories with cook and reheat temperatures, ready to post on the line.
Every kitchen is different. This poster is a general guide based on standard Canadian food safety practice, not a one-size-fits-all rule. Target temperatures and hold times can vary with the dish and with your local health unit. Review it and adapt it to your facility before you rely on it. Probe It Food Safety provides this resource for general guidance only.
Certified Public Health Inspector
Brown in the middle is not a temperature. The cooks I trust reach for the probe, not their eyes, and they check the thickest part, away from the bone. The other thing I check is the thermometer itself. If it has never been calibrated, the number on it means nothing. Drop the probe in ice water, it should read 0 degrees. If it does not, it needs adjusting before anyone cooks with it.
Samira Ali · Certified Public Health Inspector · Probe It Food SafetyCommon questions
What are the safe cooking temperatures in Canada?
Whole poultry 82°C, poultry pieces or ground poultry 74°C, food mixtures containing poultry, eggs, meat, or fish 74°C, ground meat that is not poultry 71°C, pork and pork products 71°C, and fish and seafood 70°C. The safe temperature must be reached in the thickest part of the food.
How long do you hold the cooking temperature?
The safe temperature has to be reached and held for at least 15 seconds. Check it with a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the food, making sure the probe does not touch bone or the pan, which would give a false reading.
What temperature should you reheat food to?
Reheat food quickly to at least its original cooking temperature, within two hours. Poultry is reheated to 74°C. A whole chicken, for example, is cooked to 82°C but can be reheated to 74°C. Reheat in one step, do not partly heat food and finish it later.
What is the danger zone?
The danger zone is the temperature range between 4°C and 60°C, where bacteria grow fastest. Keep hot food at 60°C or above and cold food at 4°C or below. Move food through the danger zone as quickly as possible when cooking, cooling, or reheating.