The same control seen three ways: what the law says in each country, what operating programmes actually do, and where to read about it in this Atlas.
| Control | Australia | New Zealand | Singapore | Malaysia | In practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving chilled and frozen food | 5 °C or colder, or 60 °C or hotter, unless the transporter shows otherwise. Frozen means not , with no figure (3.2.2 cl 5). | 5 °C or colder, above 60 °C, or the supplier's temperature (notice; template plan). | In transit: chilled 4 °C or below (core 7 °C), frozen −18 °C or below (core −12 °C), put away promptly (SFA guideline). | Carrying: −1 to 10 °C chilled, −18 °C frozen (reg 56). | Chilled: 5 °C is the usual . Certified hotel plans often use a 4 or 5 °C target with an 8 °C critical limit, then a short put-away. Frozen: 'frozen solid, no sign of thawing' is the usual test, with −15 or −12 °C as a figure in some plans. Put-away: 15 to 30 minutes. |
| Chilled storage | 5 °C or colder (3.2.2 cl 6). | 5 °C or colder. | Retail 0 to 4 °C or up to 7 °C by food; processing establishments −4 to 7 °C. | −1 to 10 °C for food stored for retail sale (reg 38). | 5 °C is the usual . Plans with bands use a 4 or 5 °C target and an 8 °C critical limit, with time rules between. Some read air, some the food, and some a simulant such as a water vial. |
| Frozen storage | Stays frozen, with no figure (3.2.2 cl 6). | Stays frozen. | −12 °C for retail frozen raw meat; −18 °C or colder for processing establishments. | Below −18 °C for frozen meat and fish (regs 39, 45). | Divided between −15 °C and −18 °C, and sometimes both in one business. Some use −18 °C as a target and −15 °C as an action line. Classified as an OPRP, a prerequisite, or part of a storage CCP, depending on the plan. |
| Cooking | No figure in the Code. Guidance: 75 °C core for poultry and minced food (). | 75 °C in all parts, or a listed (notice). | Cook thoroughly, with no numeric in the guideline read. | No figure in the regulations read. | Australian plans mostly use 75 °C. Certified hotel and airline plans often use a table by food: poultry about 74 °C for 15 seconds, minced meat 68 to 70 °C, and whole cuts and fish about 63 °C. |
| Reheating | Rapidly to 60 °C or hotter, to hold hot (3.2.2 cl 7(4)). | At least 75 °C, then above 60 °C (template plan). | Core at least 75 °C for at least 2 minutes, once only (SFA guideline). | No figure in the regulations read. | Divided between 60 °C and 75 °C. In Australia, 75 °C is a stricter house rule than the Code's 60 °C. Time windows run from 45 minutes to 2 hours, and many plans allow one reheat only. |
| Hot holding | 60 °C or hotter (3.2.2 cl 8). | Above 60 °C (template); at or above 60 °C after cooking (notice). | Above 60 °C (SFA guideline). | Above 60 °C when served hot (reg 36). | 60 °C is most common. Certified hotel plans often target 63 °C with a 60 °C , and one group standard allows lower for a short, set time. The 2-hour and 4-hour rule is widespread. |
| Cold display | 5 °C or colder (3.2.2 cl 8). | 5 °C or colder (template plan). | Caterers: 4 hours in total between 5 and 60 °C (reg 13A). | No general figure read. | 5 °C is usual. Some plans allow up to 8 °C with a display life of 2 to 4 hours. Plans classify it differently, from a separate CCP to part of storage. |
| Cooling | 60 to 21 °C in 2 hours, then to 5 °C in 4 more, unless shown safe (3.2.2 cl 7(3)). | 60 to 21 °C in under 2 hours, then to 5 °C in under 4 more. | Below 5 °C within 4 hours of cooking (SFA guideline). | As soon as possible; no time set (reg 36). | Two families. Most Australian plans use the 2 and 4 hour stages. Certified hotel plans often use about 4 hours in total, with an earlier check at 90 minutes or 2 hours. Blast often has its own , such as 75 to 5 °C in under 2 hours. |
| Thawing | No method or figure in the Code. Keep time at growth temperatures to a minimum (3.2.2 cl 7(2)). | Fridge, microwave then use at once, cold running water in an airtight container, or bench up to 4 hours (template plan). | Retail raw meat: chiller at 0 to 4 °C or an approved method, label it, use within 3 days (regs 13, 14). | A method that growth and toxins; drain the liquid; thawed fish near melting ice. | Chiller thawing is the usual method, then 2 to 3 days. Running water is commonly capped at 1 to 4 hours, and some plans ban bench thawing. |
| Sanitising produce | Potable water. No figure in the Code. | No figure read. | No figure read. | No figure read. | Methods aren't interchangeable, so each needs its own : 3 or below for 60 seconds with one acid product, 50 to 100 ppm chlorine for 5 minutes, and dilution with 90 seconds' contact. Classified as a CCP, an OPRP or a prerequisite, depending on the plan. |
| Thermometer accuracy | Accurate to ±1 °C, readily accessible (3.2.2 cl 22). | to schedule (template plan). | A working, maintained thermometer in every chiller, freezer and cold room (reg 12); no accuracy figure read. | ±1 °C (reg 25). | ±1 °C checked at ice and is close to universal. Frequency runs from twice a month to quarterly, and some add a yearly external . At least one plan raises calibration to an OPRP. |
| Keeping records | 3 months for records (3.2.2A); audit reports 4 years under 3.2.1. | At least 4 years. | As SFA determines; meat and fish recorder data at least 3 months. | No period set. | Well above the legal floor in Australia: from 3 months up to 3, 4 and 7 years, or shelf life plus one year. |
| Allergen list | Schedule 9: 13 entries, with required names (). | Schedule 9 for labels; template plan names 21 . | 8 groups on prepacked labels, including sulphites. | 5 groups on labels. | Most programmes that address this run a menu or recipe . Those built on the Code carry all thirteen entries. Many plans read don't state which list they use. |
| Recall | Written system for wholesale, manufacture and import (3.2.2 cl 12). | Every operator: procedure, notify within 24 hours, simulated every 12 months. | Duty to notify under the 2025 Act not yet commenced when read. | immediately on knowing or having reason to believe food is unsafe (s 13C). | Yearly mock recalls appear where is written down. Some certified plans set target times, such as trace within 2 hours and withdraw within 4. |
| Retained samples | No duty found in the law read. | No duty found in the law read. | No duty found in the law read. | No duty found in the law read. | Hotel plans freeze about 100 to 150 g of each dish for 5 to 7 days, often above a set event size. Production plans hold samples by batch. This differs from the wording, which keeps samples chilled until 3 days after eating. |
Law as read in the authority library between 14 October and 4 November 2026. In practice: food safety programmes read across hotels, clubs, venues, healthcare, manufacturing and airline catering, with no business named. A common practice isn't proof that a is safe or lawful where you are.
Cook-chill: cook, chill, store, shelf life
| Profile | Cook | Chill | Store | Shelf life | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-stage , no extended life | Cooked to your plan's | 60 to 21 °C in 2 hours, then to 5 °C in 4 more | 5 °C or colder | Set by your plan | cl 7(3). This controls growth during and gives no shelf life by itself. |
| Blast , common in practice | Often from 75 °C | 75 to 5 °C in under 2 hours | 5 °C or colder | Set by your plan | Practice across hotels, venues and production kitchens. It meets the Code's outcome faster. |
| Short shelf life, 5 days or less | 75 °C at the core, instantly, or equivalent | To 3 °C or colder within 150 minutes | 3 °C or colder | Up to 5 days, counting the days of production and service | Irish guidance for hospitals, institutions and caterers (FSAI Guidance Note 15). Reheat to 70 °C or hotter. |
| Short shelf life, up to 10 days | 70 °C for 2 minutes, 75 °C, or equivalent: a reduction | Code ; rapid chilling to 5 °C or colder | 5 °C or colder | Up to 10 days, counting production and consumption. Over 5 days needs evidence | NSW guidelines for vulnerable persons (July 2026); Appendix 3. |
| Extended shelf life, over 10 days | 90 °C for 10 minutes or equivalent: a reduction of non-proteolytic C. botulinum. Equivalents: 85 °C for 36 minutes, 80 °C for 130 minutes | To 5 °C or colder within 90 minutes may be required | ; 3 °C or colder may be needed | As | NSW guidelines; Appendix 3; Campden BRI. NSW also asks for aseptic packing. Campden also accepts below 5.0, below 0.97, 3.5% aqueous salt, or a shown combination. |
| Extended-life hospital | 82 °C at the core | To 3 °C within 2 hours | 3 °C or colder | Up to 28 days, only on the kitchen's own | A seen in healthcare cook-chill. It gives strong assurance: 82 °C needs about 3 seconds for 6 logs. Non-proteolytic C. botulinum needs about 78 minutes at 82 °C, so past 10 days this profile doesn't rest on the heat step alone. It needs cold storage at 3 °C or colder, where non-proteolytic C. botulinum doesn't grow, plus packing and end-of-life evidence, accepted by your regulator or auditor. |
Examples only, not a recipe. Heat kills what it reaches, and the shelf life then depends on the chill, the storage temperature, recontamination, the pack and the food itself. your own process, and take expert advice for extended life. Reheat once, to 70 °C for 2 minutes or equivalent under the NSW guideline, and discard leftovers. Use a use-by date.
| Core temperature | 6-log Listeria monocytogenes | 6-log non-proteolytic C. botulinum |
|---|---|---|
| 70 °C | About 2 min | Not in the table read |
| 75 °C | 26 s | About 466 min |
| 80 °C | 6 s | About 130 min |
| 82 °C | 3 s | About 78 min |
| 85 °C | 1 s | About 36 min |
| 90 °C | Not in the table read | About 10 min |
From the NSW guideline's Appendix 3 (July 2026). The food must hold this temperature for this time at its coldest point.