PREVRA Meat Pasteurisation Chart: Time-Temperature Combinations for Pathogen Reduction
A technical chart showing the holding times required at different temperatures to achieve a 5-log or 6.5-log reduction in Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria in beef, pork, poultry, and lamb. Essential for sous vide, cook-chill, and low-temperature cooking.
Why pasteurisation is not a single temperature — it is a curve
Most chefs learn that chicken must reach 75°C. That is correct for instant kill, but it is not the whole picture. You can achieve the same pathogen reduction at 60°C if you hold the meat at that temperature for 36 minutes. At 65°C, you need only 90 seconds. The relationship between temperature and time is logarithmic — every 5°C increase roughly reduces the required holding time by a factor of ten.
This principle is the scientific basis for sous vide cooking, which uses precisely controlled water baths to pasteurise meat at temperatures far lower than traditional cooking methods. The result is meat that is both safe and dramatically more tender. But it only works if you follow the validated time-temperature combinations exactly — guessing is not acceptable in a commercial kitchen subject to EHO inspection.
Applying pasteurisation science in your commercial kitchen
Select the target pathogen reduction for your process: 5-log for general food service, 6.5-log for vulnerable groups, or 7-log for shelf-stable products. Choose your cooking temperature, find the corresponding minimum holding time on this chart, and validate that your equipment can maintain that temperature for the full duration. Document every cook with time, temperature, and core temperature readings.
If you are using sous vide, you must have a written HACCP plan specifically covering it. Digital SFBB can integrate with your HACCP documentation, log cooking parameters automatically where equipment supports it, and produce the validation records an EHO will demand for any low-temperature cooking process.
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