FAQ
These questions are limited to topics that can be checked against FSIS Revised Appendix A (2021). This site does not generate thousands of near-duplicate cooking-time FAQs.
What is FSIS Appendix A?
It is the USDA FSIS Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A), December 2021, guideline ID FSIS-GD-2021-0014. FSIS describes it as information on regulatory requirements associated with safe production of RTE meat and poultry products with respect to destruction of Salmonella and other pathogens by cooking. Official FSIS page.
What is lethality?
In this guideline, lethality refers to the destruction of Salmonella and other pathogens during cooking, expressed as a log reduction. The time-temperature tables list dwell times at internal product temperatures that support a stated log reduction when the table’s critical operating parameters are also addressed.
What does a 7-log reduction mean?
A 7-log10 reduction means a 10,000,000-fold reduction of the target organism. FSIS poultry time-temperature tables (Table 3 chicken, Table 4 turkey) are written to obtain a 7-Log reduction of Salmonella. Meat Table 2 publishes both 6.5-log10 and 7-log10 columns. This site does not treat 7-log as a global default for every product.
What is relative humidity in this guideline?
Relative humidity is a critical operating parameter for using the FSIS time-temperature tables. Table 1 (page 26) lists four humidity options. Endpoint temperatures ≥145°F plus dwell time may use options 1–4; lower endpoints should use option 3 or 4. Humidity is not a column that changes the printed dwell time, so this calculator does not ask for RH as a lookup key.
What is the difference between 2017 and 2021?
FSIS-GD-2021-0014 replaces FSIS-GD-2017-0008. This calculator’s active source version is 2021. The 2017 edition is historical and is not used for default lookups. See 2017 vs 2021.
When can the calculator not provide an exact value?
When the selected product, fat (if the table uses fat), target, and temperature are not an exact row in the active 2021 table. The calculator will not interpolate between 59.4°C and 60.0°C to invent 59.7°C. It reports that no exact FSIS Appendix A value is available and lists nearest published source temperatures.
Is this an FSIS-approved or official calculator?
No. This website is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by USDA FSIS. Permitted phrasing is that results are based on, according to, or derived from FSIS Revised Appendix A. FSIS guidance does not have the force and effect of law.
Source
Data on this page are derived from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A), December 2021.