What Is Potentially Hazardous Food (PHF)? An Australian Guide

Potentially hazardous food (PHF) is food that must be kept under temperature control to limit the growth of food-poisoning bacteria or the formation of toxins. In Australia it includes meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, cooked rice and pasta, cut fruit and vegetables, and processed foods containing these. PHF must be kept cold at 5°C or below, or hot at 60°C or above, cooked to a core of 75°C, and kept out of the 5°C–60°C temperature danger zone. Key takeaways: Potentially hazardous food (PHF) must be kept under temperature control to limit pathogen growth or toxin formation.. Common PHF: meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, cooked rice and pasta, cut fruit and vegetables, and processed foods containing these.. Keep PHF cold at 5°C or below, or hot at 60°C or above — the 5°C–60°C range is the temperature danger zone.. Cook and reheat PHF to a core of 75°C (or a validated combination such as 70°C for 2 minutes).. For ready-to-eat PHF out of temperature control, apply the 2-hour/4-hour rule.. PHF temperature cheat-sheet: Control point, Target temperature, Notes. Fridge / cold storage — 0–5°C — Check with a probe, not just the display. Cold holding & display — 5°C or below — Top of the danger zone is 5°C. Freezer — -18°C or below — Freezing pauses, but does not kill, bacteria. Hot holding & display — 60°C or above — Bottom of the safe hot range is 60°C. Cooking & reheating — 75°C core — Or a validated combo, e.g. 70°C for 2 minutes. Two-stage cooling — 60→21°C in 2h, 21→5°C in 4h — Passes food quickly back through the zone. What is potentially hazardous food (PHF)? Potentially hazardous food — often written PHF, and sometimes called 'time/temperature control for safety' food — is food that must be kept under temperature control to limit the growth of pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria or the formation of toxins. These foods support rapid bacterial growth because they are typically moist, high in protein or nutrients, and low in acidity. If they are left in the temperature danger zone, bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli can multiply to levels that cause food poisoning, and some bacteria produce heat-stable toxins that cooking will not destroy. Temperature control is the single most important daily control for keeping PHF safe. Examples: is it potentially hazardous? PHF covers raw and cooked foods across most of a typical kitchen. Think of anything moist and protein- or nutrient-rich that is ready to eat or will be eaten without further cooking. Foods that are dry, high in acid or sugar, or commercially shelf-stable are generally not potentially hazardous until they are opened, reconstituted or combined with a PHF ingredient. PHF: raw and cooked meat and poultry. PHF: seafood and shellfish. PHF: dairy — milk, soft cheese, cream, custard. PHF: eggs and egg-based foods (mayonnaise, mousse). PHF: cooked rice and cooked pasta. PHF: cut fruit and cut vegetables, prepared salads. PHF: cooked and processed foods containing any of the above. Usually NOT PHF (unopened/uncombined): dry biscuits and crackers, uncut whole fruit, hard confectionery, unopened canned or commercially sterile foods, dried pasta and rice. The 5°C–60°C temperature danger zone The temperature danger zone is 5°C to 60°C. This is the range where food-poisoning bacteria grow fastest; at the warmest part of the zone they can roughly double every 20–30 minutes. Food can look, smell and taste completely normal while carrying enough bacteria or toxin to make people sick, so you cannot rely on your senses. The goal with any PHF is to keep it out of this zone as much as possible and to minimise the total time it spends inside it — whether during delivery, storage, preparation, display or transport. Cold holding, hot holding and the right storage temperatures Keep cold PHF at 5°C or below and hot PHF at 60°C or above. Use a clean, calibrated probe thermometer to check the temperature of the food itself rather than relying on a unit's display, and give fridges, cool rooms and bain-maries time to reach temperature before food goes in. A temperature log (see /free-tools/temperature-log-generator and /free-tools/fridge-freezer-temperature-chart) gives you the records an inspector will ask for. Fridge / cold storage: 0–5°C. Cold holding and display: 5°C or below. Freezer: -18°C or below. Hot holding and display: 60°C or above. Cooking and reheating: core of 75°C (or a validated time/temperature combination such as 70°C for 2 minutes). Cooking, reheating and cooling PHF safely Cooking and reheating PHF to a core temperature of 75°C destroys most food-poisoning bacteria; a validated combination such as 70°C held for 2 minutes achieves the same result. Reheat rapidly and only once. Cooling is just as important as heating because food passes slowly back through the danger zone: use two-stage cooling, taking food from 60°C down to 21°C within 2 hours, and then from 21°C down to 5°C within a further 4 hours. The /free-tools/cooling-time-calculator, /free-tools/safe-cooking-temperatures and /free-tools/reheating-temperature-guide can help you check these targets. The 2-hour/4-hour rule for ready-to-eat PHF Ready-to-eat PHF cannot always stay under temperature control — think of a buffet, a catering run or a busy prep bench. The 2-hour/4-hour rule tracks the total time PHF spends between 5°C and 60°C across its whole life, not just one occasion. Count every period it has been out of temperature control and add them together to decide what to do next. Under 2 hours total: safe to use, or return to the fridge for later. 2 to 4 hours total: use immediately — do not refrigerate and reuse. Over 4 hours total: throw it out. Why control matters: pathogens, toxins and the law The reason PHF is singled out is risk. Uncontrolled PHF is behind most foodborne illness: bacteria multiply to infectious doses, and some — such as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus (a particular risk in cooked rice left warm) — produce toxins that are not destroyed by later reheating. Beyond the health risk, temperature control is a core obligation. Under the Food Standards Code, FSANZ writes the rules — including Standard 3.2.2A (food safety management tools: a Food Safety Supervisor, food-handler training and substantiation of your controls) and Standard 1.2.3 (PEAL allergen labelling) — while states, territories and councils enforce them. Keeping temperature records is the simplest way to substantiate that your controls work. Requirements can vary, so confirm with your state or territory regulator or council. Worked examples: Buffet tray of cooked chicken: A cafe puts cooked chicken out on a bench for a function. It sits at room temperature for 90 minutes, goes back in the fridge, then comes out again for 1 hour the next day. Total time in the danger zone is 2.5 hours, so under the 2-hour/4-hour rule it must be used immediately and not refrigerated again. Whole melon vs cut melon: An uncut whole rockmelon is not potentially hazardous and can sit on display. Once it is cut, the moist, nutrient-rich flesh is exposed and it becomes PHF — it must then be kept at 5°C or below and the 2h/4h clock starts whenever it is out of temperature control. Checklist: Identified which foods on your menu are potentially hazardous. Cold PHF held at 5°C or below; hot PHF at 60°C or above. PHF cooked and reheated to a core of 75°C (or validated combination). Two-stage cooling used: 60→21°C in 2h, then 21→5°C in 4h. 2-hour/4-hour rule tracked for ready-to-eat PHF out of temperature control. Temperatures recorded, with corrective actions for any out-of-range readings. Common mistakes: Assuming a food is safe because it looks, smells and tastes normal — PHF can be dangerous while appearing fine. Treating freezing as a kill step; it only pauses bacterial growth. Leaving cooked rice or other PHF to cool slowly on the bench, letting toxins form. Reheating PHF more than once, or not reaching a 75°C core. Forgetting that opened or combined 'low-risk' foods (cut melon, cooked pasta) become PHF. Not recording temperatures, so there is no evidence the control worked.