20 CAR § 192-401 – Cooking

(a) Raw animal foods.*
1. (1) Except as specified under subdivisions (a)(2) – (4) of this section, raw animal foods such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and foods containing these raw animal foods, shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for a time that complies with one (1) of the following methods based on the food that is being cooked:
  1. (A) Sixty-three degrees Celsius (63°C) (one hundred forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (145°F)) or above for fifteen (15) seconds for: ^P

(i) Raw eggs that are broken and prepared in response to a consumer’s order and for immediate service; ^P and

(ii) Except as specified under subdivisions (a)(1)(B), (C), and (a)(2) of this section, fish and meat including game animals commercially raised for food as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(A) and game animals under a voluntary inspection program as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(B); ^P
1. (B) Sixty-eight degrees Celsius (68°C) (one hundred fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (155°F)) for fifteen (15) seconds or the temperature specified in the following chart that corresponds to the holding time for ratites, mechanically tenderized and injected meats, the following if they are comminuted, fish, meat, game animals commercially raised for food as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(A), and game animals under a voluntary inspection program as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(B), and raw eggs that are not prepared as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(A)(i): ^P
  Minimum
  Temperature°C (°F) Time
  63 (145) 3 minutes
  66 (150) 1 minute
  70 (158) < 1 second (instantaneous)
  ; or
2. (C) Seventy-four degrees Celsius (74°C) (one hundred sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (165°F)) or above for fifteen (15) seconds for poultry, baluts, wild game animals as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(g)(1)(C) and (D), stuffed fish, stuffed meat, stuffed pasta, stuffed poultry, stuffed ratites, or stuffing containing fish, meat, poultry, or ratites. ^P

(2) Whole meat roasts including beef, corned beef, lamb, pork, and cured pork roasts such as ham shall be cooked:

(A) In an oven that is preheated to the temperature specified for the roast's weight in the following chart and that is held at that temperature: ^Pf

Oven Type	Oven Temperature Based on Roast Weight
	Less than 4.5 kg (10 lbs.)	4.5 kg (10 lbs.) or More
Still Dry	177°C (350°F) or more	121°C (250°F) or more
Convection	163°C (325°F) or more	121°C (250°F) or more
High Humidity¹	121°C (250°F) or less	121°C (250°F) or less
1 Relative humidity greater than 90% for at least 1 hour as measured in the cooking chamber or exit of the oven; or in a moisture-impermeable bag that provides 100% humidity.

; and

(B) As specified in the following chart, to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for the holding time that corresponds to that temperature: ^P

Temperature°C (°F)	Time¹ in Minutes	Temperature°C (°F)	Time¹ inSeconds
54.4 (130)	112	63.9 (147)	134
55.0 (131)	89	65.0 (149)	85
56.1 (133)	56	66.1 (151)	54
57.2 (135)	36	67.2 (153)	34
57.8 (136)	28	68.3 (155)	22
58.9 (138)	18	69.4 (157)	14
60.0 (140)	12	70.0 (158)	0
61.1 (142)	8
62.2 (144)	5
62.8 (145)	4
1Holding time may include post oven heat rise.

(3) A raw or undercooked whole-muscle, intact beef steak may be served or offered for sale in a ready-to-eat form if:
1. (A) The retail food establishment serves a population that is not a highly susceptible population;
2. (B) The steak is labeled to indicate that it meets the definition of “whole-muscle, intact beef” as specified under 20 CAR § 192-201(a)(4); and
3. (C) The steak is cooked on both the top and bottom to a surface temperature of sixty-three degrees Celsius (63°C) (one hundred forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (145°F)) or above and a cooked color change is achieved on all external surfaces.
(4) A raw animal food such as raw egg, raw fish, raw-marinated fish, raw molluscan shellfish, or steak tartare, or a partially cooked food such as lightly cooked fish, soft-cooked eggs, or rare meat other than whole-muscle, intact beef steaks as specified in subdivision (a)(2)(C) of this section, may be served or offered for sale in a ready-to-eat form if:
1. (A) As specified under 20 CAR § 192-801(3)(A) and (B), the retail food establishment serves a population that is not a highly susceptible population; and
2. (B) The food, if served or offered for service by consumer selection from a children's menu, does not contain comminuted meat; ^Pf and
3. (C) The consumer is informed as specified under 20 CAR § 192-603 that to ensure its safety, the food should be cooked as specified under subdivisions (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section; or
4. (D) The regulatory authority grants a variance from subdivisions (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section as specified in 20 CAR § 197-103(a) based on an HACCP plan that:
  1. (i) Is submitted by the permit holder and approved as specified under 20 CAR § 197-103(a);
  2. (ii) Documents scientific data or other information showing that a lesser time and temperature regimen results in a safe food; and
  3. (iii) Verifies that equipment and procedures for food preparation and training of food employees at the retail food establishment meet the conditions of the variance.

(b) Microwave cooking.* Raw animal foods cooked in a microwave oven shall be:
1. (1) Rotated or stirred throughout or midway during cooking to compensate for uneven distribution of heat;
2. (2) Covered to retain surface moisture;
3. (3) Heated to a temperature of at least seventy-four degrees Celsius (74°C) (one hundred sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (165°F)) in all parts of the food; ^P and
4. (4) Allowed to stand covered for two (2) minutes after cooking to obtain temperature equilibrium.
  1. (c) Plant food cooking for hot holding. Fruits and vegetables that are cooked for hot holding shall be cooked to a temperature of fifty-seven degrees Celsius (57°C) (one hundred thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit (135°F)). ^Pf
    1. (d) Noncontinuous cooking of raw animal foods. Raw animal foods that are cooked using a noncontinuous cooking process shall be:
5. (1) Subject to an initial heating process that is no longer than sixty (60) minutes in duration; ^P
6. (2) Immediately after initial heating, cooled according to the time and temperature parameters specified for cooked time/temperature control for safety food under 20 CAR § 192-501(d)(1); ^P
7. (3) After cooling, held frozen or cold, as specified for time/temperature control for safety food under 20 CAR § 192-501(f)(1)(B); ^P
8. (4) Prior to sale or service, cooked using a process that heats all parts of the food to a temperature and for a time as specified under subdivisions (a)(1) – (3); ^P
9. (5) Cooled according to the time and temperature parameters specified for cooked time/temperature control for safety food under 20 CAR § 192-501(d)(1) if not either hot held as specified under 20 CAR § 192-501(f)(1), served immediately, or held using time as a public health control as specified under 20 CAR § 192-501(h) after complete cooking; ^P and
10. (6) Prepared and stored according to written procedures that:
  1. (A) Have obtained prior approval from the regulatory authority; ^Pf
  2. (B) Are maintained in the retail food establishment and are available to the regulatory authority upon request; ^Pf
  3. (C) Describe how the requirements specified under subsection (d)(1) – (5) of this section are to be monitored and documented by the permit holder and the corrective actions to be taken if the requirements are not met; ^Pf
  4. (D) Describe how the foods, after initial heating, but prior to complete cooking, are to be marked or otherwise identified as foods that must be cooked as specified under subdivision (d)(4) of this section prior to being offered for sale or service; ^Pf and
  5. (E) Describe how the foods, after initial heating but prior to cooking as specified under subdivision (d)(4) of this section, are to be separated from ready-to-eat foods as specified under 20 CAR § 192-302(a)(1). ^Pf

Minimum
Temperature°C (°F)	Time
63 (145)	3 minutes
66 (150)	1 minute
70 (158)	< 1 second (instantaneous)