Meat & Poultry Lethality Calculator

Calculate cooking time and temperature combinations for meat and poultry using data from the USDA FSIS Revised Appendix A. The calculator returns an answer only when an exact row exists in the 2021 tables. It does not interpolate, estimate, or invent values.

Calculator

Exact source match · FSIS-GD-2021-0014 · December 2021

This calculator is based on data published in the USDA FSIS Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A, 2021). It is an informational tool and is not an official FSIS calculator or regulatory determination.

How it works

Options in the form are loaded from verified rows in the database. The backend looks up the active 2021 source version with a deterministic query. If the combination is not an exact table row, the response is no exact match plus the nearest published temperatures. There is no AI in the numerical path.

Read the matching rules

Source information

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products
Revised Appendix A
December 2021
FSIS-GD-2021-0014
Replaces FSIS-GD-2017-0008

View official FSIS guideline · Document record on this site

FSIS Revised Appendix A tables used here

Table 2 Meat products · 6.5-log and 7-log · page 35 Table 3 Chicken · 7-log by fat · page 37 Table 4 Turkey · 7-log by fat · page 38 Table 6 Meat 5-log alternative · page 59 Table 1 Humidity options · page 26 Poultry rolls Older instantaneous options · page 39

Popular calculations

Meat products 130°F / 54.4°C 112 minutes Meat products 140°F / 60.0°C 12 minutes Meat products 140°F / 60.0°C 12 minutes Meat products 145°F / 62.8°C 4 minutes Meat products 145°F / 62.8°C 4 minutes Meat products 150°F / 65.6°C 67 seconds Meat products 155°F / 68.3°C 22 seconds Meat products 158°F / 70.0°C Instantaneous (0 seconds) Meat products 158°F / 70.0°C Instantaneous (0 seconds) Meat products 160°F / 71.1°C Instantaneous (0 seconds) Meat products (5-log alternative) 140°F / 60.0°C 9 minutes Meat products (5-log alternative) 145°F / 62.8°C 3 minutes Meat products (5-log alternative) 158°F / 70.0°C Instantaneous (0 seconds) Chicken 140°F / 60.0°C · 1% fat 25.2 minutes Chicken 140°F / 60.0°C · 5% fat 27.5 minutes Chicken 140°F / 60.0°C · 12% fat 35 minutes Chicken 145°F / 62.8°C · 1% fat 8.4 minutes Chicken 145°F / 62.8°C · 5% fat 9.2 minutes

Food safety information

Appendix A is written for establishments producing ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. It addresses destruction of Salmonella and other pathogens by cooking. Humidity and heating come-up time are critical operating parameters when using the time-temperature tables. This site does not replace a HACCP plan, challenge study, or regulatory determination.

FAQ

Answers below are limited to questions that can be checked against the 2021 guideline. Open the full FAQ.