Question about meringue buttercream

I follow the food safety guideline of heating the egg white to 160 degrees (F) which I believe is 71.11 C.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Love it! i use it for all my cakes. Because I really dislike the raw egg risk, I use pasteurized eggwhites, available at wholesale.

Use pasteurized egg whites. There sold at most grocery stores.

I use Italian meringue buttercream which comes out the same consistency and taste as Swiss. But, the sugar is cooked in a syrup to 242 degrees F. The egg whites are beaten separately in the mixer bowl to soft peaks and when the syrup reaches the right temperature it is poured slowly into the beaten egg whites on low speed, then beaten on high speed until the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch of your palms before adding the butter and flavorings. I may be wrong here but I believe cooking the syrup to that temp. and adding it to the beaten egg whites may kill any bacteria.

i always heat my eggs up to 65c i never make it with out heating up the eggs

The original SMBC recipe I began using 10 years ago included heating the egg whites and sugar in a bowl set over simmering water for about 5 minutes; so that is what I do each and every time I make SMBC.

Salmonella is the main risk with uncooked eggs, and salmonella more often is caused by undercooked yolks than in whites. In many countries in Europe, chickens are vaccinated against salmonella; in the US, they are not. Eggs in the US are washed, but not in Europe. Heating the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler to 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) will kill any potential salmonella. You can also use pre-packaged pasteurized egg whites as mentioned above, which have already been heated to kill any pathogens. I find that the pre-packaged pasteurized egg whites do not whip up as fluffy as fresh whites so I tend to use a combination of the two (at least 25% fresh). That means that I still heat them to 160 degrees F. If you use only the pasteurized egg whites, you just need to heat the egg whites and sugar enough to thoroughly dissolve the sugar, a much lower temperature.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/

Thanks guys, very informative xx

Wo — you guys are so helpful — thank you so much for all your kindness — I haven’t seen packaged pasteurised egg whites here in Netherlands but i’ll search for it — I do heat the raw egg whites but I don’t use a candy thermometer — I think now I should start using candy thermometer — Italian meringue buttercream seems to be a good idea — i’ll give it a try — thank you so much once again you guys are amazing!!

You should also consider flour icing Simmz. Easy to make, all ingredients readily available, much less fuss, and it tastes every bit as good as SMBC.
leelabeanbakes.com/blog/frosting-filling/even-better-cooked-flour-frosting/