Temperature control

Services

Cooling cooked foodCooked food that is being kept has to pass through the danger zone fast enough that spore-forming bacteria which survived cooking cannot multiply or form toxins to a harmful level.8 stepsCooking and reheatingVegetative pathogens that survive undercooking are the hazard. The control is a core temperature floor, and the record has to show the food reached it before it is served, held or chilled.8 stepsHot holding and transferCooked food held hot can cool into the danger zone. Control is a temperature floor, and once that floor is lost, time is the only control left.7 stepsKeeping food coldChilled and frozen food stays safe only while it stays cold. Each unit's temperature is on record, and a unit out of limit is checked against the food itself.8 stepsProving the thermometer is rightEvery temperature record is only as good as the instrument. A probe reading 2 °C low can turn a warm delivery into an accepted one, so each probe is shown accurate or taken out of use.5 stepsOffsite cateringFood cooked in your kitchen and served somewhere else leaves the controls that kept it safe. Assess the venue first, keep readings at each handover, and let the clock decide once temperature can no longer be held.9 stepsTemperature monitoring equipmentA sensor stands in for a person's reading only while it's sound, installed correctly and reaching someone who can act. A sensor that has gone quiet is a unit nobody is watching, so silence is never counted as within limit.10 stepsSous videSous vide cooks food in a sealed bag at a low temperature, often for a long time. Low heat kills slowly, and the sealed bag suits bacteria that grow without oxygen. It is safe only when thickness, time, temperature and the cold chain are controlled for each item.8 stepsThawing, and handling raw meat and fishThawing warms the outside of food first, while the centre stays frozen. Juices can reach other food, and food still icy in the middle may not cook through. Raw-served meat and fish have no cook to remove what they carry, so selection and handling must do that work.8 stepsDisplay, buffets and self-serviceFood on display sits out for a long time, often within reach of the public. Protect it from people, keep it at temperature or run it by the clock, and don't carry it over to another service.8 steps