Scientifically measured and empirical are the same, ultimately. You take a piece or meat. You measure the bacterial content – mostly by cultivating them and count what is usually called cfus – colony forming units. You heat another part of it by x degrees and do it again. So you get a curve of how many bacteria survive at which temperature and you can deduce a safe threshold for it.
Meat becomes unsafe because of bacteria that may (or may not) live within it. Perfectly sterile meat would be safe to eat raw but that’s nearly impossible to get. So, scientists determine which bacteria can be encountered and measure how heat resistant they are.
As far as I know, 74°C is the recommended temperature to kill salmonella, so even if you got unlucky and your poultry contained it, after cooking it at this temperature you will be safe.
Latest Answers