USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

1-888-MPHotline

(888-674-6854)

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health agency 

in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

Food Safety Information

United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Numerous callers to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 

report being alarmed when seeing “pink.” To them, it 

means “unsafe” or “under-done.”

“I cooked my turkey until done according to the 

directions, but when I sliced the breast meat, it was 

still pink near the bone,” said an Oklahoma caller. “Is it 

safe?”

“We had a big family argument at Thanksgiving dinner. 

Aunt Mildred wouldn’t eat the turkey because it looked 

pink,” reported the beleaguered cook from a Wisconsin 

family.

The color of cooked poultry is not always a sure sign of 

its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one 

accurately determine that poultry has reached a safe 

minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the 

product. Turkey can remain pink even after cooking to a 

safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. The meat 

of smoked turkey is always pink.

To understand some of the causes of “pinking” or 

“pinkening” in fresh turkey, it’s important to know first 

what gives meat its natural color.

Why is Poultry Lighter in Color Than 

Beef?

The protein myoglobin is the major pigment found in 

all vertebrates and can exist in various forms which 

determine the resulting meat color. The major reason 

that poultry meat is much lighter in color than beef is 

that it is dramatically lower in myoglobin. Also, as an 

animal becomes older, its myoglobin content usually 

increases. Turkeys today are young -- 4 to 5 months old 

-- at the time of slaughter.

Is Pink Turkey Meat Safe?

The color pink in cooked turkey meat raises a “red flag” to many diners and cooks. Conditioned to be wary of 

cooked fresh pork that looks pink, they question the safety of cooked poultry and other meats that have a rosy 

blush.

Why Are White and Dark Meat of Poultry 

Different Colors?

The pink, red, or white coloration of meat is due 

primarily to oxygen-storing myoglobin which is located 

in the muscle cells and retains the oxygen brought by 

the blood until the cells need it. To some extent, oxygen 

use can be related to the bird’s general level of activity: 

muscles that are exercised frequently and strenuously 

-- such as the legs -- need more oxygen, and they have 

a greater storage capacity than muscles needing little 

oxygen. Turkeys do a lot of standing around, but little if 

any flying, so their wing and breast muscles are white; 

their legs, dark.

What Causes Well-Done Meat to Be Pink?

1. Chemical Changes During Cooking. 

Scientists have found that pinkness occurs

when gases in the atmosphere of a heated

gas or electric oven react chemically with

hemoglobin in the meat tissues to give

poultry a pink tinge. They are the same

substances that give red color to smoked

hams and other cured meats. 

The presence of high levels of myoglobin, or 

some of its redder forms due to incomplete 

denaturation during heat processing, can 

account for poultry having a pink to red color

similar to that of an undercooked product. 
Food Safety Questions?

The USDA is an equal opportunity

 provider and employer.

Revised December 2010

Is Pink Turkey Meat Safe?

FSIS encourages the reprint and distribution of this publication for food safety 

purposes. However, the included image from PhotoDisc, used under license, is 

protected by the copyright laws of the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere, and may not be 

saved or downloaded except for printing of this publication.

2. Natural Presence of Nitrites. 

Nitrites are commonly used to produce a 

desired pink color in traditionally cured meats 

such as ham or bologna. So it follows that the 

natural presence of nitrates and nitrites, 

either in the feed or water supply, used in the 

production of poultry are a factor in nitrite 

levels in the birds. 

One study found that during 40 hours of 

storage at 40 °F, naturally occurring 

microorganisms converted nitrate to nitrite. It 

also found that the local water supply had 

nitrate and, thus, could serve as a nitrate 

source during processing.

3. Young Age of Meat. 

Often meat of younger birds shows the most 

pink because their thinner skins permit oven 

gases to reach the flesh. The amount of fat 

in the skin also affects the amount of pink

color. Young birds or animals also lack the

shield of a fat covering.

4. Grilling. 

Meat and poultry grilled or smoked outdoors 

can also look pink, even when cooked to 

165 °F. There may be a pink-colored rim about

one-half-inch wide around the outside of the 

cooked meat. The meat of commercially 

smoked turkeys is usually pink because it is 

prepared with natural smoke and liquid 

smoke flavor.

Ask Karen!

FSIS’ automated response 

system can provide food safety 

information 

24/7 and a

live chat 

during 

Hotline 

hours.

AskKaren.gov

PregunteleaKaren.gov

Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

If you have a question 

about meat, poultry, or 

egg products, call the 

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 

toll free at 

1-888-MPHotline

(1-888-674-6854)

The hotline is open 

year-round

 Monday through Friday from 10 

a.m. to 4 p.m. ET 

(English or Spanish).

Recorded food safety 

messages are available 24 hours a day. 

Check out the 

FSIS Web site at

 www.fsis.usda.gov. 

Send E-mail questions to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov.