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Control food temperatures safely

Keep food at safe temperatures throughout storage, cooking, holding, cooling, and reheating to prevent harmful bacterial growth and comply with food hygiene law.

UK-wide
Guide summary

You must keep food at safe temperatures to stop harmful bacteria growing. Check temperatures when food arrives, store it correctly, cook and reheat thoroughly, and monitor regularly. Follow legal temperature limits to avoid enforcement action.

  • Check deliveries: chilled ≤8°C, frozen ≤-18°C
  • Store chilled ≤5°C, frozen ≤-18°C
  • Cook to 75°C core (or 70°C for 2 minutes)
  • Keep hot food ≥63°C
  • Cool from 63°C to ≤8°C within 90 minutes
  • Reheat to 75°C (82°C in Scotland)
  • Never leave food between 8°C-63°C for over 4 hours
  • Use calibrated thermometers and record checks
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If you run a food business that stores, cooks, reheats, or serves food, you must control temperatures at every stage of the process. Temperature control is a legal requirement under Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter IX). Failure to maintain safe temperatures is one of the most common reasons for poor food hygiene ratings and enforcement action.

The temperature danger zone

Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply most rapidly between 8 degrees C and 63 degrees C. This is called the danger zone. Your aim is to keep food out of this range as much as possible.

The two-hour/four-hour rule gives practical guidance: food that has been in the danger zone for less than two hours can be refrigerated for later use. Food that has been in the danger zone for two to four hours should be used immediately. Food that has been in the danger zone for more than four hours must be thrown away.

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    1. Check deliveries on arrival

    Check the temperature of chilled and frozen food when it arrives. Chilled food should be at 8 degrees C or below and frozen food at minus 18 degrees C or below. Reject any delivery where temperatures are outside these limits. Record the temperature, date, and supplier in your delivery log.

  2. 2

    2. Store food at the correct temperature

    Put chilled and frozen food into storage immediately after checking. Set your fridge to run at 5 degrees C or below (the legal maximum is 8 degrees C, but 5 degrees C gives a safety margin). Set freezers to minus 18 degrees C or below. Store raw meat on the lowest shelves, below ready-to-eat food.

  3. 3

    3. Cook food to safe core temperatures

    Cook food until the core reaches at least 75 degrees C. Alternatively, cook to 70 degrees C and hold at that temperature for 2 minutes. Use a calibrated probe thermometer to check. Take particular care with poultry, pork, rolled joints, and minced meat products.

  4. 4

    4. Hold hot food above 63 degrees C

    If you display or serve hot food, keep it at 63 degrees C or above. Check the temperature regularly with a probe thermometer. If hot food drops below 63 degrees C, either reheat to at least 75 degrees C or serve within 2 hours. After 2 hours below 63 degrees C, throw it away.

  5. 5

    5. Cool cooked food safely

    If you need to refrigerate cooked food, cool it as quickly as possible. The target is to reduce the temperature from 63 degrees C to below 8 degrees C within 90 minutes. Divide large quantities into smaller, shallow containers.

  6. 6

    6. Reheat food thoroughly

    Reheat food until the core temperature reaches at least 75 degrees C (recommended guidance; in Scotland reheating to 82 degrees C is a legal requirement). Check with a probe thermometer. Only reheat food once. Do not add freshly cooked food to a batch that has already been reheated.

  7. 7

    7. Defrost food safely

    Defrost food thoroughly before cooking unless manufacturer's instructions say to cook from frozen. Defrost in the fridge on a tray that catches drips, or use a microwave on the defrost setting if you plan to cook immediately. Never defrost food at room temperature.

  8. 8

    8. Monitor and record temperatures

    Use a calibrated digital probe thermometer to check food temperatures. Clean and disinfect the probe between uses. Record all temperature checks in your monitoring log. Calibrate your probe regularly in iced water (0 degrees C) and boiling water (100 degrees C).

Danger zone
8 degrees C to 63 degrees C -- bacteria multiply rapidly
Fridge target
5 degrees C or below (legal maximum 8 degrees C)
Freezer
Minus 18 degrees C or below
Cooking core temperature
75 degrees C (or 70 degrees C for 2 minutes)
Hot holding
63 degrees C or above
Cooling target
63 degrees C to below 8 degrees C within 90 minutes
Reheating (England/Wales/NI)
75 degrees C core temperature (recommended guidance, not a statutory figure)
Reheating (Scotland)
82 degrees C core temperature (statutory requirement)

Temperature control and cross-contamination

Poor temperature control often works alongside cross-contamination to cause food poisoning. Raw meat stored above cooked food can drip bacteria downward, and if the fridge is also running too warm, those bacteria multiply quickly.

What to do when temperatures go wrong

If a fridge or freezer breaks down or temperatures rise above safe limits, act immediately:

  • Fridge failure: If the temperature has risen above 8 degrees C, check how long food has been above this temperature. Food above 8 degrees C for less than 2 hours can be used immediately or re-chilled. Food above 8 degrees C for more than 4 hours must be thrown away.
  • Freezer failure: If food has started to defrost but still contains ice crystals and is below 8 degrees C, it can be cooked immediately but must not be refrozen.
  • Hot holding failure: If food drops below 63 degrees C, either reheat it to 75 degrees C and return it to hot holding, or serve it within 2 hours. After 2 hours, discard it.

Record all temperature breaches and the corrective actions you took.

Failing to control food temperatures can lead to enforcement action by your local authority. This includes improvement notices, hygiene emergency prohibition orders (immediate closure), and prosecution. Convictions can result in an unlimited fine and up to 2 years imprisonment.

Official guidance