Preparing Food Wash your hands. Get the food to be fixed from storage, the stove, the cooler or freezer. Take a little at a time, and keep the rest hot or cold until you are ready to work with it. Prepare potentially hazardous foods just before you need them. Cooking Food Use a metal stem thermometer to check temperatures while cooking food to make sure that it gets done all the way inside.
Different foods have to reach different temperatures to be done or safe.
The metal stem thermometer measures the inside, or internal temperature of the food. Wash and sanitize the thermometer each time you check the temperature of a food. You must place the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat or in the center of the food to get a true reading. All poultry, all food made from poultry, all stuffed meats , and the stuffing in them must reach 165 degrees F or hotter to destroy salmonella and other bacteria . This includes all kinds of hamburger such as taco meat, and meat loaf, as well as hamburger patties.