Those of you who know all about food safety, please excuse my ignorance on this topic, and please permit me to speak. Like the OP, I am here to learn.
I am puzzle by all the warnings about “don’t stick your thermometer in your meat”. Is there any proof that is as dangerous as everyone’s perception?
I forgot the exact number, something like 5%? Or 15%? 25%? of all the beef you buy are already perforated hundreds of times by a process called “mechanically tenderized” and 85% of the tenderized steaks are served in restaurants. There is no labeling require for meat sold this way.
Mother Nature always wins.
Remember astronauts in gravity free space? In a very short time, they couldn’t even walk when they returned to earth. If you don’t exercise your immune system, soon the nasties will take over.
At this point in the USA, we are kept alive artificially by spending annually $3,800,000,000,000 in medicine. Medicine is basically chemical wheelchairs for the physiologically handicapped.
There is no such thing as “Super Bugs”, it is just that we have now become “Super Weak” animals.
Yes, absolutely “When in doubt, throw it out”, don't take chances, but make sure you really read the whole concept of food safety recommendations and only apply the relevant guidelines to your own situation, IMHO.
dcarch