A recent study announced by the University of Illinois shows consumers prefer the new standard cooking temperature for pork. 

The Department of Agriculture in 2011 changed the recommendation for pork chops, and select other whole cuts of pork, internal temperature minimums from 160 degrees to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 

The University of Illinois research team had already demonstrated that trained taste-testers prefer pork chops cooked to 145 degrees, but the team wanted to try their luck with the average consumer this time. 

Like the trained taste-testers, average consumers were asked to rate juiciness, tenderness, flavor, and overall acceptability of pork cooked to 145, 160, and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 

Researchers say the results were what they expected as consumers rated juiciness, tenderness, and flavor much higher in pork chops cooked to 145 degrees than the other temperatures. 

USDA cations, however, that ground pork and variety meats, including organs, should still be cooked to 160 degrees.