Pink is back. Reversing the food safety dictates of decades, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced it is no longer necessary to cook meat (except ground meat) to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. The new magic number for pork chops and other cuts is a much juicier 145 degrees, plus a three minute resting time. This allows the internal temperature to rise slightly, but also has the culinary benefit of thickening the juices so they don’t run out when the meat is cut.

On the long-controversial subject of color, the agency states: “If raw pork is cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and allowed to rest for three minutes, it may still be pink but is safe to eat.” Look to your meat thermometers: from now on, if pork loins are leathery and lamb roasts are chewy, American cooks will have no one to blame but themselves.