Piping hot is not a cooking recommendation; temperature is

 I like gray food. Sometimes.

Pot roast, gravy, mushy peas, mashed potatoes – it’s comfort food for the Brisbane winter (high 70F, low 48F).

It’s gray. And piping hot.

But I also like hamburgers that aren’t hockey pucks, pork that isn’t leather, poultry that melts rather than substitute as a rubber ball.

To cook many foods safely without overcooking requires a tip-sensitive digital meat thermometer.

But, the Brits are the Brits, and once again, the best government communications types can come up with is, cook food until it’s piping hot.

This time it’s the Health Protection Agency, which issued one of those completely ineffectual food safety reminders as part of the taxpayer-funded Food Safety Week – another way to blame consumers if they get sick.

Among the helpful tips:

“Ensure that you cook/BBQ meat until it is piping hot – particularly poultry, as this will kill off any bacteria.

Dr Bob Adak, an expert in gastrointestinal disease at the HPA, said: “Bacteria can survive in all kinds of environments and can grow and spread rapidly given the opportunity. But you can combat this by cooking meat correctly to kill any bacteria that may be present and using hot soap and water when washing up and wiping surfaces thoroughly to eliminate harmful bacteria and reduce the risk of infection.”

Where can I buy some of this hot soap?

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time