Minimum cooking temperatures must be held for how many seconds to ensure safety?

Minimum cooking temperatures must be held for 15 seconds to ensure food safety, particularly when cooking certain types of meat and poultry. This practice is crucial to effectively kill harmful bacteria and pathogens that are commonly found in raw food products. The concept is rooted in food safety guidelines established to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Holding food at the minimum cooking temperature for this specific duration allows for enough time to ensure that the heat penetrates the food thoroughly, achieving a temperature high enough to destroy most bacteria such as Salmonella or E. coli. By adhering to this 15-second rule, food handlers can promote safer food preparation and serve food that is less likely to pose health risks to consumers.

Other durations suggested in the choices are either too short to guarantee effective microbial kill or not standard practices set by food safety authorities.