The cookies and mashed potatoes are comparatively straightforward, but how do you know if a turkey or a beef roast is thoroughly cooked? Is "done" the same as "safe"? The Partnership for Food Safety Schooling has launched a food safety campaign together with President Clinton as Food Safety Initiative. The campaign, called Fight BAC! A stresses two simple steps that are critical to food safety:

• Tidy: Wash hands and surfaces often;
• Separate: Don't cross-contaminate;
• Cook: Cook to proper temperatures;
• Chill: Refrigerate promptly.

It as hard to think about the holidays without thinking about food - roast ham, tender brisket with gravy, perhaps evens a spicy deep-fried turkey. And don't forget the creamy mashed potatoes, the pies, the cookies, and all the other special treats for the holiday season. With these fond thoughts of holiday foods comes pressure - pressure to prepare everything right and pressure to serve safe food to all those guests.

These two steps are thought about by food safety specialists to be critical control points to stopping food borne disease. A critical control point is a process or handling practice that has been identified as being essential or critical in stopping food borne disease. These practices, which prevent or control the harmful bacteria associated with food borne disease, are under the direct control of the consumer. They are purchasing, storing, pre-preparing, cooking, serving, and handling leftovers. Failure to take appropriate action at these critical points could lead to food borne disease.

Cooking: A Critical Control Point

Food safety specialists agree that foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long time and at a high temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause food borne disease. How are you able to tell if food has been heated thoroughly? The only correct way is to make use of a food thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of cooked meat and poultry. There are some foods, such as poultry, that will give visual signs of "doneness," but other foods, such as ground beef, won't.

What Is "Done"?

Webster as dictionary defines "doneness" as the condition of being cooked to the desired degree. While food safety specialists stress the internal temperature that ensures destruction of pathogens in food, "doneness" reflects subjective qualities such as the appearance, texture, and optimum flavor of a food. Recent research has shown that these indicators are not reliable for safety. Only a food thermometer can be relied on to exactly be positive bacterial destruction. Visual signs of doneness ought to be reserved for situations in which doneness is reached after the food has reached a safe temperature.

What is "Safe"?

Poultry

For reasons of personal preference, consumers may select to cook poultry to higher temperatures. Use a food thermometer to assure that meat and poultry have reached a safe maximum internal temperature.

Although a whole chicken or turkey and poultry parts will visually indicate that they have been thoroughly cooked, stuffed poultry won't. There is no way that a consumer can tell by the juices, the tenderness or color of the flesh, or even by wiggling a drumstick if the middle of the stuffing has reached 165 °F. Only by verifying the internal temperature of both the bird and the stuffing with a food thermometer can a consumer be positive the product has been thoroughly cooked.

Pork

Pork roasts are safe when cooked to 160 °F although the middle of the roast may be pink. Pork chops may have a trace of pink color at this temperature. Again, a consumer would not be able to select visually if a pork roast that was pink in the middle had reached a safe temperature.

Beef

Beef roasts cooked to 160 °F will usually have tiny pinkness to the meat, and the juices won't be pink or red. Below the temperature of 160 °F, the middle of the roast will be pink or red, depending on the internal temperature. A beef roast cooked to 145 °F in the middle can be thought about safe since the outside of the roast would have reached a temperature high to destroy bacteria, unless it is a rolled roast or one that has been mechanically tenderized. A consumer would not be able to select if a roast that was pink in the middle had reached the safe temperature of 145 °F without a food thermometer.

Ground Meat and Poultry

Research indicates that the color of the meat and the color of the juices are not correct indicators of doneness. Ground beef may turn brown before it's reached a temperature at which bacteria are destroyed. A consumer preparing hamburger patties and depending on visual signs to select safety by using the brown color as an indicator is taking a chance that pathogenic microorganisms may survive. A hamburger cooked to 160 °F, measured with a food thermometer throughout the patty, is safe - irrespective of color.

Combination Dishes

Casseroles and other combination dishes must be cooked to 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. These dishes are historically in the past composed of cooked foods and then heated to combine flavors. Pathogenic bacteria could survive, however, if the meat or poultry part of a casserole was merely "browned" and the casserole was not subsequently heated thoroughly, if the dish was assembled in advance and refrigerated. These dishes display no visible signs of doneness. The visual descriptor "until hot and steamy" is difficult to confirm. Only by using a food thermometer could a consumer be positive it had been heated to a safe temperature.

By using a food thermometer on a regular basis, consumers can be assured that the food they cook is "done" as well as safe.

No More Guesswork

Using a correct food thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking. No more cutting in to your turkey or beef roast to see if it looks done. Basically place the food thermometer in to the food and it will indicate the temperature the food has reached. You all know if it needs to cook a couple of minutes more or if it is done. This is helpful with combination dishes such as lasagna or egg casseroles that may brown on the top before they heat through.