{"id":4422,"date":"2025-06-25T23:32:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/?p=4422"},"modified":"2025-06-25T23:34:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:04:04","slug":"ready-to-heat-food-safety-reheat-to-165","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/ready-to-heat-food-safety-reheat-to-165\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready-to-Heat Food Safety: Why You Must Reheat to 165\u00b0F"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of June 2025,\u00a0 sixteen people across the U.S. have been hospitalized after eating Ready-to-Heat (RTH)<\/a> chicken meals contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. <\/em>Of them there are three confirmed deaths, and pragnancy associated illness that resulted in a fetal loss.\u00a0These meals, sold under popular store brands like Marketside (Walmart) and Home Chef (Kroger), were fully cooked and refrigerated. But the outbreak has raised a serious question: why do these “fully cooked” meals still require reheating to 165\u00b0F?<\/p>\n

Why Reheat Fully Cooked Ready-to-Heat Meals?<\/h3>\n

It might seem confusing\u2014if the meal is fully cooked, why not eat it straight out of the fridge? The answer lies in ready-to-heat food safety<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While the food may leave the factory bacteria-free, it can still pick up dangerous pathogens like Listeria<\/em> during packaging, transport, or storage. Reheating the food to 165\u00b0F acts as a kill step<\/strong>. This step destroys any bacteria that might have contaminated the product after cooking.<\/p>\n

The 165\u00b0F Rule in Food Safety<\/h3>\n

That temperature isn\u2019t random. It\u2019s the point at which most common foodborne pathogens are killed, including Listeria<\/em>, Salmonella<\/em>, and E. coli<\/em>. Even if the product looks and smells fine, it could still contain invisible risks. Heating evenly and thoroughly<\/a> helps reduce that risk.<\/p>\n

Dangers of Improperly Heated RTH Foods<\/h3>\n