Temperature Control

Controlling food temperatures is one of the most important things that must be done in a food business. You must ensure that food is cooked, cooled, chilled and reheated properly to minimise the risk of harmful levels of bacteria in the food that you sell.

Remember that meat isn't the only high risk food. Dried goods such as rice and pulses and vegetable and salads may contain bacteria that may grow if poor temperature control is practiced.

Always remember that perishable food should be kept out of the danger zone of 8°C to 63°C to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. 

Bacteria are killed at high temperatures so it is important that food is cooked thoroughly to a core temperature of at least   75°C for at least two minutes. 

Conversely low temperatures will not kill bacteria however provided food is held at under 8°C then growth will be minimised.

Chilled foods

Ready to eat foods need to be kept at temperatures that are not going to result in potentially dangerous bacterial growth.  These are between 0ºC and 8ºC. You should think about what sort of foods you have and how best to store them.  Your refrigerator must be capable of maintaining a temperature of between 0ºC and 8ºC, though a maximum of 5ºC is preferable.

Ready to eat foods are generally defined as:

• Dairy products
• Cooked products
• Smoked or cured fish which is not ambient shelf-stable
• Smoked or cured ready-to-eat meat which is not ambient shelf-stable
• Prepared ready-to-eat foods
• Uncooked or partly cooked pastry and dough products

Raw meats which are not ready to eat are not subject to temperature control.  This is because in order to eat them they will undergo cooking which should be sufficient to destroy any harmful bacteria.

Hot foods

Ready to eat food can also be kept at a high temperature which will prevent the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms.  For example cooked foods can be kept for available for service indefinitely so long as they are kept at a temperature of over 63ºC.  

If you are using these provisions you must be able to show that you can check the temperature of foods on display, usually by a clean temperature probe.

Cooling of Foods

If cooked foods are to be stored chilled or frozen they must be cooled as soon as possible after the cooking stage to reduce the amount of time they are in the Danger Zone of 8°C to 63°C.  As a general guide you should aim to reduce foods to below 8°C in under 90 minutes.