Thread: Food safety rules and why you're overcooking your food

The Complex Origins of Food Safety Rules--Yes, You Are Overcooking Your Food: Scientific American

Very interesting read!

I, for one, LOVE my rosy-pink pork tenderloin and the USDA can bite me til tuesday.

And this is verging on the overdone for me.

I am not surprised that I overcook food.

I burn water.

I think these rules aren't made for normal, healthy people but more for children, the elderly, & people with compromised immune systems. For example, the so-called temperature danger zone is between 40-140F. After that beef is supposed to be 155F. However, when we do Prime Rib in my restaurant, we cook it in the oven to 125F, which makes it rare. Then we keep it in a warmer set at 165F. While it's in the warmer the temperature rises but very slowly. So it's not going to be "safe" for several hours but it is safe. Nobody's ever had any problems with getting sick. Sushi is another example. The rice is cooked fully but then it's cooled down into the temperature danger zone. And of course there's the raw fish. For that the key is freshness. That's why I never go to sushi buffets.