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Hong KongCooking temperatures: the four numbers and what belongs to each
Four minimum internal temperatures: 74°C (165°F) for poultry and stuffed foods, 68°C (155°F) for ground meat and eggs held for service, 63°C (145°F) for whole cuts and seafood, and 57°C (135°F) for plant food held hot.
Four numbers carry most of the temperature questions on this exam. Here they are with the foods attached, which is the only useful form to learn them in.
| Temperature | Hold for | Food |
|---|---|---|
| 74°C (165°F) | Less than 1 second | Poultry, stuffed meat and pasta, stuffing containing meat, reheated leftovers, anything cooked in a microwave |
| 68°C (155°F) | 17 seconds | Ground meat, mechanically tenderized or injected meat, ratites, eggs held for later service |
| 63°C (145°F) | 15 seconds | Whole cuts of beef, pork, veal and lamb, seafood, eggs cooked for immediate service |
| 57°C (135°F) | Instant | Fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes that will be held hot |
| 54°C (130°F) | 112 minutes | Certain roasts, under the time-and-temperature table |
The pattern underneath
Higher temperature means more surface area exposed to contamination, or a food that carries more of it.
Whole muscle is contaminated on the outside only, so searing handles it: 145°F. Grinding mixes the outside through the whole thing: 155°F. Poultry carries Salmonella through the flesh and stuffing insulates the center from heat: 165°F. Plant food has no animal pathogen to kill, so its number is a holding temperature rather than a kill step.
Reconstruct it that way and you can derive any of them. Memorize the list and a slightly unusual food leaves you guessing.
54°C (130°F) is real. It is a genuine allowance for certain roasts held for 112 minutes, and it exists in the Code specifically so it can appear as an option beside 135°F hot holding. Both are correct in their own context, which is the whole trick.
Where people lose marks
- Stuffed anything is 165°F. Stuffed pork chops, stuffed pasta, stuffed chicken breast. The stuffing insulates.
- Eggs split on timing. Cooked to order for immediate service, 145°F. Cooked for a buffet, 155°F.
- Microwaves are 165°F for everything, covered, rotated, then standing for 2 minutes.
- Reheating for hot holding is 165°F within 2 hours - a different rule from cooking, and it applies however the food was originally cooked.
- Commercially processed food opened and reheated for immediate hot holding only needs 57°C (135°F).
Measuring it properly
The number means the internal temperature at the thickest part, away from bone and away from the pan. A thermometer accurate to ±1°C (±2°F), calibrated in an ice slurry at 0°C (32°F), and sanitized between uses.
For thin foods - a burger, a fillet - a thermocouple or thermistor with a thin probe is what the Code expects, because a bimetallic stem thermometer averages across its sensing area and reads the wrong thing entirely.
How to drill these
Not as a chart. Take a food, say the number and the reason, then take a food from a different row. Poultry, 165, the pathogen runs through it. Steak, 145, only the surface was ever contaminated. Burger, 155, the surface got mixed in.
The exam asks it that way round, so practice it that way round.
Common questions
What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for poultry?
74°C (165°F) for less than one second. The same number covers stuffed foods, stuffing containing meat, reheated leftovers and anything cooked in a microwave.
What temperature for ground beef?
68°C (155°F) for 17 seconds. Grinding mixes surface bacteria through the whole product, which is why it is higher than the 63°C (145°F) for a whole cut.
Is 130°F ever a correct answer?
Yes, for certain roasts held at that temperature for 112 minutes under the Food Code time-and-temperature table. It exists partly so it can sit beside 135°F as a plausible option, so read which food the question names.
What temperature do eggs need?
It depends on service. Cooked to order for immediate service, 63°C (145°F). Cooked and held for later service, such as on a buffet, 68°C (155°F).
How do you reheat food for hot holding?
To 74°C (165°F) within 2 hours, regardless of how it was originally cooked. Commercially processed food opened and reheated for immediate hot holding only needs 57°C (135°F).