What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for an injected or marinated whole pork loin under California law?

Explanation

Under California Retail Food Code HSC §114004, intact whole-muscle pork is cooked to 145°F for 15 seconds, but ANY meat that has been mechanically tenderized, injected with brine/marinade, or that contains comminuted (ground) ingredients must be cooked to a higher temperature of 155°F for 17 seconds. The reason is microbiological: surface bacteria such as Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli normally sit on the exterior, where the cooking surface reaches a lethal temperature; injection needles or mechanical blades drag those organisms into the cooler interior, where the muscle behaves like ground meat from a pathogen-distribution standpoint. Option B is the temperature for intact pork and is wrong for injected product. Option C is the poultry temperature (165°F) and applies to chicken, turkey, stuffed meats, and reheated leftovers — not raw pork. Option D refers to a long-time low-temperature schedule used for whole roasts of beef or pork (HSC §114004 table), but it requires holding 135°F for at least 89 minutes, not 4 minutes, and is invalid for injected product.