# Time and Temperature to kill certain food borne pathogens...



## daveomak.fs (Jun 21, 2019)

Below is  chart explaining the time at a given temperature to kill some of the food borne pathogens we experience somewhat regularly....  
Be safe..  protect your family and friends by cooking and using a thermometer...

What may not be clear is...  You can kill pathogens at lower temperatures, if the food is held at that temperature for a longer period of time...  Combining time and temperature can make foods more palatable...  No more shoe leather, like mom or grandma used to make, to insure our health...  

The chart below is of some of the most difficult microorganisms to kill...    They take some of the higher temps and longer times to get the job done...

It appears from looking at the chart below...  ~2 minutes at ~145F will pretty much take care of any food borne bad stuff and make your food safe to eat...   And it will still be juicy and have flavor...  ~34 minutes at ~130F will do the same thing...    
Personally, I hold the food at a recommended temperature for at least twice the time recommended, to lean more toward the safe side...


----------



## Frank Young (Jul 4, 2019)

I am a little confused by this obsession over the 40°-140° food danger zone.  I put a 10 pound pork butt on at 40° last night at 9PM.  It was 1:30 AM before it got to 140° so it spent 4½ hours in the dreaded danger zone.  Did the subsequent rise to 200° kill off the massive midnight bacteria bloom or is there something else going on here?


----------



## dr k (Jul 4, 2019)

Frank Young said:


> I am a little confused by this obsession over the 40°-140° food danger zone.  I put a 10 pound pork butt on at 40° last night at 9PM.  It was 1:30 AM before it got to 140° so it spent 4½ hours in the dreaded danger zone.  Did the subsequent rise to 200° kill off the massive midnight bacteria bloom or is there something else going on here?


This link is the second pinned thread Chef JJ has in this food safety forum. It's permanently at the top of this forum to easily find. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/40-to-140-in-4-a-guideline-and-what-to-consider.270191/
It differentiates intact vs. Non intact meat and that the 40-140 in 4 hrs applies to non intact uncured meat.


----------

