Home · Sources and method

Method

Where these numbers come from

This site does not hand you a link out of the page you came to read. That is a decision about attention, not a decision to hide where the numbers came from. Every citation is here in full.

Verification

Before a number is called correct

Being written down is not the same as being checked. So that the difference is never lost, every value carries which of these six rungs it has reached.

01 Held in the systemIt is written down here. Nothing else is claimed.
02 A source names itA source says it, and the citation is recorded.
03 Source checkedThe source really does say it; the quote and page are recorded.
04 Context establishedWhich ingredient, what concentration, surface or core, which method.
05 Confidence assignedA confidence level, and the reason for that level.
06 Ready to publishOnly here may it appear on a page as an assertion.

Where this stands today

None of the cooking thresholds has been checked

The 62 °C for egg white, the 85 for yoghurt, the 140 for Maillard, the 170–190 for frying, the 0.8–1.5% for salt: all of them sit on the first rung. They are very likely right. That is not the same as checked, and this page has no business blurring the two.

Threshold	Verification	Confidence
Egg coagulation	Held in the system	high
Safe internal temperature for meat	A source names it	high
Collagen turning to gelatine	Held in the system	medium
Degrees of doneness	Held in the system	high
Starch gelatinisation	Held in the system	high
Caramelisation	Held in the system	high
The Maillard reaction	Held in the system	high
Casein splitting	Held in the system	high
Yoghurt setting	Held in the system	high
The frying window	Held in the system	high
The salt window	Held in the system	high
The band yeast works in	Held in the system	high
The gluten network	Held in the system	medium
Water activity	Held in the system	high
Boiling	Held in the system	high
The infant feeding calendar	Context established	high
Salt in a day	Context established	high
Free sugars	Context established	high
Protein in a day	Context established	high

Context

Thresholds that do not have one number

Some thresholds simply do not have a single value, and hiding that is worse than printing the wrong one. Every number below stands beside the organism, product or regulation it holds for, with the source’s own sentence next to it. One of them still has no source, and says so itself.

Water activity

What decides spoilage is not how much water a food holds but how available that water is to microorganisms. Sugar and salt bind it and pull the value down; that, not the cold, is what keeps jam and pickles. There is no single safe threshold: the number depends on which organism and which product you are talking about.

0.8 aw

Home-made jam and pickles Held in the system

The warning line this site uses for a home preserve that will sit at room temperature for more than a fortnight. It is not a microbiological floor — saying nothing grows below it would be wrong, because moulds live in far drier places than this. It is stricter than the 0.85 regulatory threshold, which is the safe direction to be wrong in.

Found in no source. It stays as the system’s own working value and is labelled as one.

0.85 aw

US regulation, finished product Context established

Not the growth limit of any organism but a line drawn around a body of law: a food whose finished-product water activity is held at 0.85 or less falls outside 21 CFR Parts 108, 113 and 114. It is not binding in Turkey; it stands here as a yardstick.

“If the water activity of food is controlled to 0.85 or less in the finished product, it is not subject to the regulations of 21 CFR Parts 108, 113, and 114.”

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Water Activity (aw) in Foods

0.86 aw

Pathogenic microorganisms, in general Context established

A lower bound given for disease-causing microorganisms as a group rather than for any one species. Some of them, C. botulinum among them, stop well above it.

“pathogenic microorganisms cannot grow at aw <0.86”

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Handling and Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables by Combined Methods for Rural Areas

0.93–0.96 aw

Clostridium botulinum Context established

The lowest water activity at which the bacterium behind botulism can grow. Not one number but a band: depending on the product’s other characteristics it rises as high as 0.96, meaning in some products it stops even sooner.

“The minimum aw level for the growth of C. botulinum is approximately 0.93. Depending on various product characteristics this minimum level can be as high as 0.96.”

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Water Activity (aw) in Foods

0.95 aw

Ordinary food itself Context established

Not a threshold but a starting point: most of the food in a kitchen already sits here, and that is more than enough for bacteria, yeasts and mould. Preserving anything begins with pulling this number down.

“Most foods have a water activity above 0.95 and that will provide sufficient moisture to support the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold.”

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Water Activity (aw) in Foods

0.62 aw

Yeasts and moulds Context established

Yeasts and moulds tolerate dryness far better than bacteria: growth usually only stops below 0.62. That is why dried fruit, jam and tomato paste are lost to mould rather than to bacteria, and why "I lowered the water activity, so it is safe" is only ever true about bacteria.

“yeasts and moulds are more tolerant and usually no growth occurs at aw <0.62”

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Handling and Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables by Combined Methods for Rural Areas

The infant feeding calendar

In infant feeding the numbers are a calendar rather than a quantity: when breast milk alone, when anything else, and until when breastfeeding continues. This site is not an infant feeding guide and will not become one. What is here is the least somebody needs in order to know which dates apply while they are making something in a kitchen.

6 months

The first six months Context established

From birth to the end of the sixth month, breast milk and nothing else — not even water. This is a health recommendation rather than a kitchen rule, and it sits here only so the date is known while something is being prepared in a kitchen.

“breastfeed exclusively (are fed only breast milk) for the first 6 months of life”

World Health Organization, Infant and young child feeding

6 months

Complementary feeding Context established

Around six months a baby’s need for energy and nutrients begins to exceed what breast milk provides, which is why complementary foods start — alongside it, not instead of it. Two to three meals a day at 6-8 months, three to four at 9-23 months.

“Around the age of 6 months, an infant’s need for energy and nutrients starts to exceed what is provided by breast milk, and additional (complementary) foods are necessary”

World Health Organization, Infant and young child feeding

24 months

Breastfeeding continuing Context established

Breastfeeding does not stop when complementary foods start: it continues to two years of age and beyond. The 24 months is a floor, not a ceiling.

“continue breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond while nutritionally adequate, safe complementary (solid) foods are introduced from six months”

World Health Organization, Infant and young child feeding

12 months

Honey and infant botulism Context established

No honey until one year old. The Clostridium botulinum spores in it are harmless in an adult gut and multiply in an infant one. Cooking does not kill the spores, which is why the rule covers a cake or a pudding with honey in it too.

“Do not give your child honey until they’re over 1 year old”

NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

5 years

Shapes that are a choking risk Context established

Whole nuts are not given below five years old — the reason is choking, not allergy. The same logic covers anything round and firm: quarter a grape lengthways, cut sausage along its length rather than across. The nut itself is not the problem; ground or as a butter it is fine from around six months. What changes is the shape, not the ingredient.

“Whole nuts should not be given to children under 5 years old, as they can choke on them.”

NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Salt in a day

The salt in a dish and the salt in a day are two different sums. A proportion that tastes right in one pot can be too much across everything eaten in a day — and most salt arrives in processed food rather than from the hand that seasoned the pan. This record is about the daily total; for the proportion in the pot, see the salt window.

5 g 2000 mg

An adult Context established

Under 5 g of salt a day, which is under 2000 mg of sodium — just under a teaspoon. A label usually gives sodium, and the two are not the same number: salt is about 2.5 times the sodium.

“For adults, WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt), or just under a teaspoon.”

World Health Organization, Salt reduction

5 g

Ages 2 to 15 Context established

No separate figure is given for a child: the adult value is adjusted downward by the child’s energy requirement. So for a small child the limit is well below 5 g and moves with age — printing one number would invent a precision the source does not offer. Under one year, and 6-24 months, fall outside this recommendation altogether; added salt is not on the table at that age in any case.

“For children aged 2–15 years, WHO recommends adjusting the adult dose downward based on their energy requirements.”

World Health Organization, Salt reduction

Free sugars

Free sugars are the sugars added to food plus those naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juice. The sugar inside a piece of fruit is not included — being behind a cell wall changes how fast it is absorbed. That distinction is why the word "sugar" on its own measures nothing.

10%

Strong recommendation — adults and children Context established

The same share for adults and for children. Ten per cent of a 2000-calorie day is roughly 50 g of sugar, and a single can of a fizzy drink is more than half of it. The risk of weight gain, obesity and tooth decay rises above this line.

“In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake.”

World Health Organization, Information note about intake of sugars recommended in the WHO guideline for adults and children, 2015

Conditional recommendation Context established

This one carries a different strength, and the difference is written down on purpose: 10% is a strong recommendation, 5% is conditional. That is WHO’s own distinction, and putting the two in one sentence would say the evidence behind them is equally strong.

“A further reduction to below 5% of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits.”

World Health Organization, Information note about intake of sugars recommended in the WHO guideline for adults and children, 2015

Protein in a day

Protein need is worked out per kilogram of body weight rather than per plate: the same portion can be plenty for somebody of 55 kg and short for somebody of 95. The figures here are reference intakes — the amount that prevents a shortfall — not a performance target.

0.83 g/kg

An adult Context established

Per day, 0.83 g for every kilogram of body weight — about 58 g a day for somebody of 70 kg. This is a floor: the amount that prevents a shortfall, not an optimum.

“0.83 g per kg of body weight per day”

European Food Safety Authority, Dietary Reference Values for protein, 2012

0.83–1.31 g/kg

Infants, children and adolescents Context established

Per kilogram the need is higher in a child than an adult, because growth wants protein too. There is no single number: it runs between 0.83 and 1.31 g by age. Which age takes which figure is not written here, because writing it without reading the table would be inventing it.

“between 0.83 g and 1.31 g per kg of body weight per day depending on age”

European Food Safety Authority, Dietary Reference Values for protein, 2012

Sources

31 sources, 424 claims

Every gluten and allergen record carries a source. The glycaemic index values all come from one table, and what that table does and does not say is written below.

Standard 176 claims

Allergen labelling

UK Government, Allergen labelling

The list of fourteen allergens that must be declared. The basis for the allergen classes used on this site.

read 2026-09-10

Authority 160 claims

Gluten-Free Foods

Celiac Disease Foundation, Gluten-Free Foods

A patient-organisation guide to which foods count as naturally gluten free. It treats processing contamination separately.

read 2026-09-10

Journal 42 claims

International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values

Atkinson FS, Brand-Miller JC, Foster-Powell K, Buyken AE, Goletzke J, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values, 2021

The source of every glycaemic index value on this site. The table measures individual foods; the glycaemic load of a dish cannot be read straight off it, it has to be worked out.

10.1093/ajcn/nqab233 · read 2026-09-10

Authority 12 claims

Food Labeling Guide

Celiac Disease Foundation, Food Labeling Guide, 2024

What the wording on a label means, and what a "gluten free" claim actually commits to.

read 2026-09-10

Authority 11 claims

Sources of Gluten

Celiac Disease Foundation, Sources of Gluten

A list of hidden gluten sources, naming the processed products where the label has to be read.

read 2026-09-10

Authority 8 claims

What Is Gluten · Sources

Celiac Disease Foundation, What Is Gluten · Sources

A second address for the same material from the same body. Kept as its own record because both appear in the data.

read 2026-09-10

Standard 4 claims

Allergen codes · sulphur dioxide and sulphites

UK Food Standards Agency, Allergen codes · sulphur dioxide and sulphites

read 2026-09-10

Authority 2 claims

Oats

Celiac Disease Foundation, Oats

Oats are gluten free in themselves; the problem is shared processing. This is why contamination risk is its own class.

read 2026-09-10

Authority 2 claims

Food Allergies

US Food and Drug Administration, Food Allergies

read 2026-09-10

Authority 1 claims

Combined Gluten-Free Diet and Food Label Reading Guide

Celiac Disease Foundation, Combined Gluten-Free Diet and Food Label Reading Guide, 2017

read 2026-09-10

Authority 1 claims

What Is Gluten

Celiac Disease Foundation, What Is Gluten

Which grains carry the gluten proteins.

read 2026-09-10

Authority 1 claims

Living Gluten Free · FAQs

Coeliac UK, Living Gluten Free · FAQs

read 2026-09-10

Authority 1 claims

Svesker

Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Svesker

read 2026-09-10

Standard 1 claims

Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers

European Union, Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, 2011

Annex II is the legal source of the mandatory allergen list. The Turkish Food Codex follows the same list.

EU 1169/2011 · read 2026-09-10

Standard 1 claims

Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule

US Food and Drug Administration, Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule

The regulation that defines the 20 ppm threshold — the record showing that "gluten free" does not mean zero.

read 2026-09-10

Standard 1 claims

Food labelling: giving food information to consumers

UK Government, Food labelling: giving food information to consumers

read 2026-09-10

Authority

Dietary Reference Values for protein

European Food Safety Authority, Dietary Reference Values for protein, 2012

The population reference intake for an adult is 0.83 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For infants, children and adolescents it runs between 0.83 and 1.31 g/kg depending on age. Pregnancy adds 1, 9 and 28 g a day by trimester; lactation adds 19 g a day for the first six months and 13 g after that.

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies · 9 February 2012 · read 2026-09-13

Book

Handling and Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables by Combined Methods for Rural Areas

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Handling and Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables by Combined Methods for Rural Areas

Barbosa-Cánovas, Fernández-Molina, Alzamora, Tapia, López-Malo and Welti Chanes, Rome 2003. Chapter 3, section 3.1.2 gives water activity limits for two different groups: pathogenic microorganisms cannot grow below aw 0.86, while yeasts and moulds are more tolerant and growth usually stops below aw 0.62. That second figure is what shows the 0.80 this site has long used to be a practical warning line rather than a microbiological floor.

FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 149 · ISBN 92-5-104861-4 · read 2026-09-13

Authority

Acidified & Low-Acid Canned Foods Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Acidified & Low-Acid Canned Foods Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information

This is where the pH 4.6 line is drawn: a low-acid canned food is one with a finished equilibrium pH GREATER than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85; an acidified food is a low-acid food brought to 4.6 or below by adding acid. The page does not name Clostridium botulinum — the reasoning behind 4.6 is elsewhere, and what this source carries is the regulatory definition.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Water Activity (aw) in Foods

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Water Activity (aw) in Foods

An inspection technical guide. It states that most foods are above 0.95, which is enough to support bacteria, yeasts and mould; that a finished product controlled to 0.85 or less falls outside 21 CFR 108, 113 and 114; and that the minimum for C. botulinum is approximately 0.93, as high as 0.96 depending on the product.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Acrylamide

Food Standards Agency, Acrylamide

States that acrylamide forms in food cooked above 120 °C and that the target for starchy foods is "a golden yellow colour or lighter". It also records that the old advice against refrigerating potatoes has been withdrawn: home fridge storage was shown not to materially increase the acrylamide forming potential.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely

Food Standards Agency, How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely

Sets the fridge between 0 and 5 °C; cooked food is cooled at room temperature and refrigerated within one to two hours; leftovers are eaten within 48 hours or frozen. This site's cooling rule allowed four hours when this guidance was read, and was tightened to two.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Cooking your food

Food Standards Agency, Cooking your food

The guidance that says plainly that pathogens are killed by a combination of temperature and time rather than by a temperature, and gives the equivalents: 70 °C for 2 minutes in the centre, 60 °C for 45 minutes, 65 °C for 10 minutes, 75 °C for 30 seconds, 80 °C for 6 seconds. It separately requires poultry, pork and any minced or skewered meat to be cooked all the way through.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Advice on safe storage, handling and use of eggs for catering

Food Standards Agency, Advice on safe storage, handling and use of eggs for catering

For young children, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with an underlying condition: raw or lightly cooked egg is served only from British Lion or Laid in Britain assured eggs; otherwise the dish is thoroughly cooked or made with pasteurised egg. Duck, goose and quail eggs are always cooked through. There is no equivalent Turkish scheme, which is why the rule here says use pasteurised egg or cook it through rather than looking for a mark.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

"Do not give your child honey until they are over 1 year old." Also salt (not good for a baby's kidneys), sugar (a baby does not need it) and choking: whole nuts are not given under five, and raw jelly cubes and nut butter on its own are named as choking hazards.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Foods to avoid in pregnancy

NHS, Foods to avoid in pregnancy

Unpasteurised milk, cream, yoghurt, butter and ice cream — cow, sheep and goat — are on the avoid list. Mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating, such as brie, camembert and chèvre, must be thoroughly cooked whether pasteurised or not. The reason given is listeria and listeriosis.

read 2026-09-13

Standard

Türkiye Dietary Guidelines (TÜBER) 2022

Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Public Health, Türkiye Dietary Guidelines (TÜBER) 2022, 2022

Türkiye’s own dietary guideline and the primary Turkish reference for the nutrition content on this site: it gives energy and nutrient requirements by age, sex, physiological state and physical activity level. It updates TÜBER-2015 with data from the TBSA-2017 survey. HONESTY NOTE: this document is listed here with its full citation but no number on this site is quoted from it — saglik.gov.tr was unreachable from the environment this was built in, and quoting a document nobody opened is precisely what this site’s verification ladder exists to prevent. The figures on the pages come from sources that could be read, and each one names its own. This record is here so a reader knows the guideline they should actually consult.

Sağlık Bakanlığı Yayın No: 1031 · Ankara, 2022 · read 2026-09-13

Authority

Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart

Poultry 74 °C (165 °F), ground meat 71 °C (160 °F), whole cuts of red meat 63 °C (145 °F) plus a rest of at least three minutes. NOTE: this page could not be opened directly (403); the figures come from the text a search returned from it. Records resting on it therefore stay at "a source names it" rather than "source checked".

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Infant and young child feeding

World Health Organization, Infant and young child feeding

A WHO fact sheet. Breast milk only for the first six months; complementary foods from around six months; breastfeeding continuing to two years and beyond; 2-3 complementary meals a day at 6-8 months and 3-4 at 9-23 months.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Salt reduction

World Health Organization, Salt reduction

A WHO fact sheet. Under 2000 mg of sodium a day for an adult, which is under 5 g of salt. For ages 2-15 the adult figure is adjusted downward by energy requirement. The document states explicitly that it does not address exclusive breastfeeding at 0-6 months or complementary feeding at 6-24 months.

read 2026-09-13

Authority

Information note about intake of sugars recommended in the WHO guideline for adults and children

World Health Organization, Information note about intake of sugars recommended in the WHO guideline for adults and children, 2015

Reducing free sugars to below 10% of total energy is a strong recommendation for both adults and children; going below 5% is a conditional recommendation offering additional benefit. The two carry different strengths and the record keeps that.

WHO/NMH/NHD/15.3 · read 2026-09-13

Editorial rules

What gets written and what does not

· A measurable thresholdA mechanism is only stated when it has a measurable threshold behind it. "Medium heat" is not a technique; 170 °C is.
· A popular claim that turned out wrongIs not repeated but printed as a correction: searing does not seal in juices, oil in pasta water does nothing, salt does not toughen beans.
· FolkloreIs labelled folklore and kept apart from mechanism.
· Health contentRests on an authority, names where authorities disagree, and never gives a dose or individual advice.
· Simulation outputIs a model estimate. The confidence class is now shown beside the result in the Workshop and on the scenario pages, and nothing is claimed on a page that is not said on it.
· A user observationNever stands in the same place as a scientific fact, nor is shown in the same way.