Should I worry about finish temp lower than USDA 160 when it will still get pan fried?
OCE, morning... Well, I hope I'm not a PITA....
Ground meats are one of the most contaminated meats you can eat in your kitchen.. Bacteria and other contaminants can get introduced from surfaces, tools, etc....
Considering maybe poultry from yesterday can be introduced from who knows where....
When processing ground meats, it is a worthwhile consideration to thermally process said ground beef to poultry specifications to be on the safe side....
Salmonella and other bugs that frequent poultry are difficult to kill, comparatively speaking and can do some long term damage to us humans....
So, don't take temperature pasteurization lightly.....
Spores from the contaminants are not necessarily killed at lower temperatures..
Botulism has spores that require ~ 240F to be done in... Pressure canner temp..
Below is a pasteurization table for poultry....
Temperature........ Time .............Time
°F...... (°C) ...........1% fat ...........12% fat
136 (57.8)........... 64 min......... 81.4 min
137 (58.3) .........51.9 min....... 65.5 min
138 (58.9)......... 42.2 min....... 52.9 min
139 (59.4) ........34.4 min........ 43 min
140 (60.0)....... 28.1 min ........35 min
141 (60.6)....... 23 min ............28.7 min
142 (61.1)..... 18.9 min........... 23.7 min
143 (61.7) .....15.5 min.......... 19.8 min
144 (62.2) .....12.8 min.......... 16.6 min
145 (62.8)..... 10.5 min .........13.8 min
146 (63.3) .....8.7 min ...........11.5 min
148 (64.4) .....5.8 min............7.7 min
150 (65.6) ......3.8 min ..........4.9 min
152 (66.7) ......2.3 min.......... 2.8 min
154 (67.8) .......1.5 min .........1.6 min
156 (68.9) ........59 sec............ 1 min
166 (74.4) ..........0 sec ............0 sec
Table C.2: Pasteurization times for a 7D reduction in Salmonella for chicken and turkey (FSIS, 2005).