Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section VI: Sanitary Precautions to be Observed When Preparing and Serving Food

1-38. Cooking Raw Animal Products (Temperatures Include Post Oven Heat Rise).

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery


1. Fish, lamb, and beef (except roast beef) and foods containing these raw ingredients must be cooked to heat all parts of the food to 145 degrees F or above, except that upon request of the consumers, raw animal products, not cooked as above, may be served or offered for sale in a ready-to-eat form. Such raw animal products include rare meat, raw, marinated or partially cooked fishery products, raw shellfish, steak tartar, and soft-cooked eggs.

2. Beef Roasts (See 7 CFR 318.17). Beef roasts and corned beef must be prepared by one of the time and temperature combinations in Table 1-6. The stated temperature is the minimum temperature to which every particle of the roast must be heated; the processing time is the period of time the stated temperature must be maintained.

a. If cooking is done in a still dry heat oven and the roast weighs less than 10 pounds, the oven must be preheated to at least 350 degrees F and be kept at that temperature during cooking.

b. If cooking is done in a still dry oven and the roast weighs 10 pounds or more, the oven must be preheated to at least 325 degrees F and kept at that temperature during cooking.

c. If cooking is done in a convection dry heat oven and if the roast weighs less than 10 pounds, the oven must be preheated to at least 325 degrees F and kept at that temperature during cooking.

d. If cooking is done at an oven temperature below 250 degrees F, it must be done either in a high moisture oven with the relative humidity greater than 9.0 percent as measured in the cooking chamber or exit of the oven for 25 percent of the cooking time, but in no case less than 1 hour; or in a moisture impermeable bag.

3. Poultry, poultry products, pork, pork products and stuffings containing raw poultry or pork must be cooked to heat all parts of the food to 165 degrees F or above.

Table 1-6. Time/ Temperature Combination For Cooked Beef, Roast Beef, and Cooked Corned Beef

Minimum Internal Temperature Degrees Fahrenheit

Minimum Processing Time in Minutes After Minimum Temperature is Reached

130

121

131

97

132

77

133

62

134

47

135

37

136

32

137

24

138

19

139

15

140

12

141

10

142

8

143

6

144

5

145

Instantly

4. Raw animal products cooked in a microwave oven must be rotated during cooking to compensate for uneven heat distribution and must be heated an additional 25 degrees F to compensate for shorter cooking times.

5. Stuffing placed in an animal's body cavity for cooking must be limited to a volume of 1 cup.

6. Raw, marinated or partially cooked fishery products, before service or sale in a ready-to-eat form, must be frozen to a temperature of - 10 degrees F or below throughout for 168 hours (7 days) or blast frozen at -31 degrees F or below throughout for 15 hours, except that the installation medical officer/installation surgeon may exempt shellfish from this requirement.

7. Safe Egg-Handling Guidelines. Scientists have shown that Salmonella enteritidis bacteria can be transmitted from infected laying hens directly into the interior of the eggs before the shells are formed. The full extent of the problem is not yet known, but scientists are working to find solutions. Due to the above, FDA has now designated shell eggs as potentially hazardous food (see Paragraph 1-39). There is some risk in serving eggs lightly cooked, e.g., soft cooked, soft scrambled, or sunny-side-up, particularly to the very young, the elderly, pregnant women (because of risk to the fetus), and people already weakened by serious illness or whose immune systems are weakened.

a. Eggs cooked other than specified in Article 1-38.3 above will be individually cooked and served only upon the request of a patron. Break no more than six eggs per holding bowl. Use a clean sanitized bowl for each six eggs.

b. Serving raw eggs and foods containing raw eggs is prohibited.

c. Recipes requiring uncooked eggs, e.g., mayonnaise, eggnog, ice cream, Caesar salad dressing, hollandaise sauce, etc., will be prepared using only pasteurized frozen table eggs.

d. French toast will be prepared using only pasteurized frozen table eggs or pasteurized dehydrated egg mix.

e. Scrambled eggs, in bulk amounts, may be prepared using pasteurized frozen table eggs, pasteurized dehydrated egg mix, or fresh shell eggs. If fresh shell eggs are used, the following provisions are required.

(1) Cook bulk amounts of scrambled eggs in small batches, no more than 3 quarts, until there is no visible liquid egg

(2) Hold until served at 140 degrees F or higher, such as on a hot food table;

(3) Do not add a batch of just cooked scrambled eggs to the batch held on a hot food table. A clean sanitized container is required for each 3 quarts of scrambled eggs.

f. Egg breaking machines will not be used in Navy and Marine Corps food service facilities.