01
Temperature reference at a glance
Measure the relevant food or equipment, not simply the easiest display to read. An air-temperature reading does not establish that cooked food reached the required core temperature. Follow the food manufacturer's storage instructions where relevant.
| Control | Value | Status and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Chilled food: England, Wales and NI | 8°C or below | General legal maximum for food covered by chill-control requirements; exceptions exist. |
| Fridge setting | 5°C or below | Recommended setting to allow for fluctuations; not the general statutory maximum. |
| Chilled food: Scotland | 8°C or below recommended | Scottish law uses different wording; apply CookSafe and validated safe storage controls. |
| Cooking | 70°C for 2 minutes | FSA guidance, or a validated equivalent; not a universal statutory cooking temperature. |
| Hot holding: England, Wales and NI | 63°C or above | General legal threshold for covered hot-held food, subject to specific exceptions. |
| Hot holding: Scotland | 63°C or above | CookSafe operating guidance; check Scottish law and the process-specific exceptions. |
| Reheating: Scotland | At least 82°C | CookSafe guidance; not a UK-wide statutory reheating number. |
In practice: Record your own limits and corrective actions in the procedures. Never label every recommended control as 'the law'.
02
Chilling, storage and display
For food covered by chill-control requirements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the general legal maximum is 8°C. A fridge setting of 5°C or below is recommended to allow for changes during loading and service. Scotland's legal wording differs; GOV.UK describes 8°C or below as recommended there.
Check stock loading, door opening, equipment condition and whether food temperatures need verification when a display reading is abnormal. Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods appropriately separated and use storage times suitable for the product.
FSA guidance describes a limited allowance of up to four hours for chilled food displayed or served outside refrigeration. This is not a general safe storage time for any food at any temperature. Confirm the applicable conditions and regional rules, track the period and decide what happens afterwards before using the exception.
In practice: If food has been outside safe controls for an unknown time, do not reset the clock or assume that putting it back in the fridge makes it safe.
03
Cooking and reheating
FSA guidance recommends cooking to a core temperature of 70°C for two minutes, or a suitable validated equivalent. Use the control appropriate to the dish and process, with a clean probe at the relevant thickest or coldest point. The reading must represent the food, not just the oven setting.
Reheat food thoroughly and follow the relevant guidance and your procedures. CookSafe recommends at least 82°C for reheating in Scotland. Do not describe that as a universal UK legal number or substitute a hot-holding cabinet for a safe reheating method.
Some foods and processes need specific advice. Do not apply generic catering figures to specialist low-temperature cooking or other unusual processes without validation.
- Identify the food, batch and process you are checking.
- Use a clean, sanitised and suitably accurate probe without contaminating ready-to-eat food.
- Follow the required time as well as the temperature where the control specifies both.
- If the control is not achieved, follow the corrective action and verify the result before serving.
04
Hot holding and cooling are different controls
Keep hot-held food at the relevant control temperature: 63°C or above is the general threshold in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the operating guidance in CookSafe. Specific legal exceptions must not become the routine way of running an uncontrolled hot-holding unit.
SFBB guidance allows a limited period out of hot holding of up to two hours, once, in the stated display circumstances. Follow the detailed instructions on what to do afterwards; this is not general permission to leave food warm or restart a two-hour clock.
Cool cooked food as quickly as possible under hygienic conditions and then refrigerate. Use an appropriate method such as smaller portions or suitable chilling equipment, and validate your cooling controls for the volume and product. There is no single blanket legal cooling deadline quoted in this guide.
Keep records of the cooling process where your procedures require them, and plan for equipment capacity and busy periods. Do not overload a fridge with hot batches and assume the air-temperature display proves safe cooling.
In practice: A two-hour hot-display allowance, a four-hour chilled-display allowance and your validated cooling procedure are separate controls, not interchangeable rules.
05
Probe checks and corrective-action records
Keep probes clean, sanitised and checked for accuracy using an appropriate procedure. Ice-point or boiling-water checks may be part of that procedure; follow manufacturer instructions, allow for test conditions and use suitable tolerances. This guide does not prescribe one universal legal calibration frequency.
When a reading fails a control, first protect the food and follow the procedure. Check the equipment, process and time exposure, decide whether food can safely be corrected or must be discarded, then record what actually happened. Do not simply save a second acceptable number and hide the first result.
- Record the item or equipment, temperature and capture time.
- Identify the staff member and the control being checked.
- Describe the corrective action and any follow-up reading.
- Keep relevant maintenance or probe-accuracy evidence.
- Review recurring failures rather than treating every incident as isolated.
In practice: The app's configured warning is not itself legal advice. Verify that configured limits match the food, process and regional requirements.
