Enter the food, bath temperature and thickness. Get the heat-up time and the official safety hold, kept separate so you can see which is which.
Updated · How we source our numbers
Sous vide safety is time at temperature. FDA’s roast table holds beef at 130 °F for 112 minutes or 140 °F for 12. USDA FSIS holds lean chicken at 145 °F for 8.6 minutes. Timing starts once the center reaches the bath temperature.
Sous vide makes food safe by holding it at a temperature for long enough, not by reaching a high peak. The calculator adds two times together.
plan for = heat-up to the center (estimate, upper end) + safety hold (official table)
When your bath falls between two table rows, the calculator uses the lower row. Its time is longer, so you are always on the safe side.
The FDA Food Code sets these holds for whole-muscle roasts of beef, lamb and pork. It is the table restaurants are inspected against. Selected rows, in °F (°C):
Hold time once the center reaches the temperature
| Temperature | Hold |
|---|---|
| 130 (54.4) | 112 min |
| 133 (56.1) | 56 min |
| 135 (57.2) | 36 min |
| 138 (58.9) | 18 min |
| 140 (60.0) | 12 min |
| 145 (62.8) | 4 min |
| 149 (65.0) | 85 s |
| 158 (70.0) | instant |
Source: FDA Food Code 2022, 3-401.11 Raw animal foods, as printed in Virginia 2VAC5-585-700 (the Food Code roast table in state rule).
FSIS publishes poultry tables for a 7-log reduction of Salmonella. Fat slows the kill, so fattier meat needs longer. We use the 2% fat column for lean breast and the 10% column for dark or skin-on meat.
Hold time once the center reaches the temperature (°F)
| °F | Chicken 2% | Chicken 10% | Turkey 2% | Turkey 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 25.7 min | 32 min | 28.3 min | 31.5 min |
| 145 | 8.6 min | 11.3 min | 10.6 min | 12.4 min |
| 150 | 2.7 min | 3.5 min | 3.7 min | 4.3 min |
| 155 | 45 s | 52.4 s | 1.2 min | 1.3 min |
| 160 | 14 s | 16.2 s | 25.7 s | 26.7 s |
| 165 | <10 s | <10 s | <10 s | <10 s |
Source: USDA FSIS, Salmonella Compliance Guidelines and Revised Appendix A (2017), incl. poultry time-temperature tables. The FSIS PDF prints these tables as images; the figures above are from Riverstone Health (Yellowstone County health department), Time and Temperature Tables for Cooking Poultry, adapted from FSIS.
No official table gives heat-up time by thickness, so we calculate it. The model treats the food as a flat slab heated on both faces, or a long cylinder. It starts at 41 °F and stops when the center is within 1 °F of the bath.
Frozen food, a crowded bath or a bag that floats will all take longer. Always check the center with an instant-read thermometer before you start counting the hold.