SafeCook™: Common QuestionsUpdated 4 days ago
Does it only work on chicken?
No. It works on chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish, and seafood. We talk about chicken because poultry carries the most bacterial risk and is the easiest thing to ruin by overcooking.
Pick your food from the list, and SafeCook applies the right standard for it, based on the pathogen that actually matters for that food. That is usually Salmonella, but not always. Poultry is held to the strictest standard; most other foods are slightly less stringent.
What does "log7" mean?
It is shorthand for the reduction. One "log" is a 90% cut in the bacterial population, so log7 is 0.9999999, or 99.99999% destroyed. Writing it that way saves space. Chicken's standard is log7.
Do I have to cook to a USDA level of safety at home?
No. The health department has no say in your kitchen, and these are guidelines meant to inform you rather than restrict you.
Plenty of people eat food that does not meet the government criteria: rare steak, sushi. Intact cuts of properly handled meat are safer than most people assume. The reason we built SafeCook is that a lot of cooks overcook out of fear, and we would rather you had the information.
Restaurants are different. They can serve you a rare steak on request, but they have to tell you that undercooked food carries a higher risk, which is the small print at the bottom of most menus.
I don't need to cook my steak that much, right?
Right, and that is your call. Medium-rare steak will never meet the simplified USDA number.
Steak is also among the safest things you can eat: it is a whole muscle cut, and beef is not high risk for salmonella. People eat it raw as tartare. Your steak is fine.
What about slow cooking or sous vide?
Both comfortably exceed the standard, usually long before the food is done.
Slow-cooked cuts like brisket and pork shoulder need high temperatures for hours to break down collagen, so they pass the safety threshold early and keep cooking. Sous vide holds a steady temperature for a long time, which is close to ideal for bacterial destruction.
Expect the safe notification well before the food is ready to eat.
Why do I have to set a target temperature separately?
Because safety and doneness are different questions, and only you know the answer to the second one.
The target temperature is your idea of perfect. The SafeCook badge says the food has been hot enough for long enough to meet the standard. SafeCook then tells you whether your chosen doneness will also be safe. Usually it will. Sometimes, as with a rare steak, it will not, and you can decide what to do with that.
Some people have suggested the standard should set the target instead. That is how you end up with dry chicken.
Does it work on a thermometer I already own?
Yes. SafeCook works on every Predictive Thermometer we have made, first generation included. Update your app, then update the thermometer's firmware.
Does it work outside the US?
The standards SafeCook applies are US ones, from the FDA and USDA. Food safety standards differ a little between countries because the underlying science does not, and the US standards are conservative, so following them gives you a high level of safety anywhere.
What about high-collagen cuts?
Dark meat chicken, brisket, pork shoulder, and similar cuts need to go hotter and longer than the safety standard requires, because that is what breaks down the collagen and makes them tender. Safety is not the limiting factor with those. Time is.
Still have a question?
Email [email protected] and tell us what you are cooking and which food type you selected in the app.
SafeCook™: How It Works and How to Use It covers the standard and the setup. SafeCook™: Food Safety Disclaimer and Sources has the terms.
[Related keywords: safecook questions, safecook faq, does it work on beef, does it work on pork, does it work on fish, only chicken, which foods, food types, log7, log reduction, what does log7 mean, do i have to cook to usda, is it required, at home, restaurant, rare steak, medium rare, steak safety, tartare, sous vide, slow cooking, brisket, pork shoulder, collagen, dark meat, safe before done, target temp, predict temp, doneness, why two temperatures, safecook vs target, backward compatible, works on 1st gen, older thermometer, firmware, outside the us, international, non-us, uk, europe, canada, australia, localisation]