Food safety vs. edibility

[paulraphael]

I've been brushing up on food saftey, and am alarmed by the USDA's rules for cooking temperatures. Their idea of "rare" beef is 140 degrees. Their idea of minimually safe poultry is something I don't ever want to see on my plate.

Are these guidelines unrelated to the rules of local and state health departments? If not, how do restaurants get away with cooking food that's cooked properly from a gastronomic perspective rather than an official one?

And are there special rules for raw food like sahimi and carpaccio?

[Wesley1]

I've been brushing up on food saftey, and am alarmed by the USDA's rules for cooking temperatures. Their idea of "rare" beef is 140 degrees. Their idea of minimually safe poultry is something I don't ever want to see on my plate.

Are these guidelines unrelated to the rules of local and state health departments? If not, how do restaurants get away with cooking food that's cooked properly from a gastronomic perspective rather than an official one?

And are there special rules for raw food like sahimi and carpaccio?

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Have you ever seen the " consuming raw or undercooked foods can be a serious risk to health, especially for women who may be pregnant or nursing" on a menu anywhere?

[paulraphael]

Have you ever seen the " consuming raw or undercooked foods can be a serious risk to health, especially for women who may be pregnant or nursing" on a menu anywhere?

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Not that I can remember.

[HKDave]

The USDA temperatures for meat doneness are echoed in some local health codes, but usually treated as guidelines rather than rules, because - especially for beef - they're absurd. When it comes to enforcement, local restaurant health inspectors focus more on holding and storage time/temperatures rather than doneness temperatures.

Some (most?) US and Canadian codes require sushi be made from previously frozen fish. I've never heard of anything specific for things like carpaccio or tartare.

In rare cases, common sense prevails. Twenty years ago in Vancouver the food police cracked down on Chinese BBQ pork and roast duck - which are precooked and held at officially 'unsafe' temperatures, and would be inedible if they weren't - and it took a court case to point out that millions of people had been eating this stuff for years (more like centuries) and weren't getting sick. So in Vancouver you can legally sell and buy some of the best char siu anywhere. Thanks to BC's first Chinese lawyer, Andrew Joe, for fighting that battle.

Don't try it in Calgary, however, where just this year the food police issued a $36,000 fine to an Asian supermarket store for exactly the same issue - even though Chinese BBQ has been sold in Calgary without a problem for decades, and even though we went through all this 600 miles away in Vancouver 20 years ago. I'm so glad we have governments to protect us.

[paulraphael]

The USDA temperatures for meat doneness are echoed in some local health codes, but usually treated as guidelines rather than rules, because - especially for beef - they're absurd. When it comes to enforcement, local restaurant health inspectors focus more on holding and storage time/temperatures rather than doneness temperatures.

ahhh ... that explains it.