Cook It Safely. For a long time, consumers have been advised to use a food thermometer when cooking meat and poultry to ensure that a temperature sufficient to destroy foodborne bacteria is reached. However, according to a l998 FDA and USDA consumer food safety survey, less than half of the population owns a food thermometer, with only 3 percent using one often when cooking hamburgers. Use a food thermometer every time you prepare hamburgers, poultry, roasts, chops, egg casseroles, meat loaves, and other combination dishes.
Digital thermometers are available in kitchen and grocery stores.
Digital thermometers provide a digital readout of a specific temperature on top of a long metal stem. Battery powered, they need to be turned on and off. Temperature is registered in less than 5 seconds. Digital thermometers are designed to be placed in food at the end of the cooking time to check for final cooking temperatures. The sensor is located in the tip of the probe, making digital thermometers ideal for measuring temperature in thin foods, such as hamburgers and chicken breasts.