Most Australians unaware of safe food temperatures: study

CANBERRA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A vast majority of Australians do not know safe cooking temperatures for high-risk foods, a national survey has found.

The study, published by the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC) on Friday, found that 70 percent of people did not know the safe temperatures for hamburgers, sausages and poultry.

"Even worse, of those that reported they did know the correct temperature, most were wrong with 15 percent saying below the safe temperature of 75 degrees Celsius (C) and 9 percent stating it should be 100C or more, which would be a pretty burnt piece of food," Rachelle Williams, chair of the FSIC, said in a media release.

"Coupled with this lack of knowledge, is another of our surveys which found 75 percent of Australians surveyed reported that there wasn't a meat thermometer in their household and only 44 percent of those with a thermometer reported using is over the previous month.

The results of the survey were released to coincide with Food Safety Week which promotes safe cooking and preparation techniques.

"With an estimated 4.1 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year, and escalating rates of Campylobacter and Salmonella infection in Australia, we are encouraging all Australians to pick up a food thermometer from their local homeware store and learn how to use it properly," Williams said.

"This will not only ensure safer food but you will also be able to cook the perfect steak."

Samonellosis is caused by Salmonella bacteria found in animals farmed for food such as cows and chickens. Its symptoms include vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and fever and can last from four to seven days.

The safe temperature for poultry such as chicken, duck or turkey is 75C, the same temperature the FSIC recommends for all leftovers.