But here's the thing - according to CDC and USDA, they recommend cooking ground beef to a temperature of 160°F. Now, you might wonder why there's a different guideline for us regular folks. Well, it's actually simpler to focus on just one standard - temperature - rather than juggling both temperature and time. So, by cooking ground beef to 160°F, we can effectively zap those pesky E. coli germs and ensure a safe meal in no time!