Safe Food Temperatures in Australia: the 5°C and 60°C Rule

In Australia, potentially hazardous food must be kept cold at 5°C or below, or hot at 60°C or above. The zone between 5°C and 60°C is the 'temperature danger zone', where food-poisoning bacteria multiply fastest. Keeping food out of that zone — and recording it — is the single most important daily food safety control. Key takeaways: Keep cold potentially hazardous food at 5°C or below.. Keep hot potentially hazardous food at 60°C or above.. The 5°C–60°C 'danger zone' is where bacteria grow fastest — minimise time in it.. Recording temperatures is how you prove your controls are working to an inspector.. What is 'potentially hazardous food'? Potentially hazardous food (PHF) is food that has to be kept at certain temperatures to keep bacteria from growing to unsafe levels. It includes raw and cooked meat and poultry, dairy, seafood, cooked rice and pasta, prepared salads, and many ready-to-eat foods. These are the foods the 5°C and 60°C rule is designed to protect. Why the danger zone matters Between 5°C and 60°C, common food-poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli can double roughly every 20–30 minutes at their fastest. Food can look, smell and taste normal while carrying enough bacteria (or toxins) to make people sick. Temperature control removes the conditions bacteria need, which is why it is the backbone of a food safety program. Cold and hot holding in practice Cold food should be stored at 5°C or below in fridges, cool rooms and cold display units. Hot food being displayed or held for service should stay at 60°C or above in bain-maries, hot boxes or ovens. Chilling and heating equipment should be given time to reach the right temperature before food goes in. Cold holding: 5°C or below. Hot holding: 60°C or above. Check with a clean, calibrated probe thermometer, not just the unit's display. Don't overfill fridges or bain-maries — air needs to circulate. How to measure and record temperatures Use a probe thermometer to check the temperature of the food itself, cleaning and sanitising the probe between foods. Record readings so you can show a history of safe control — a digital log timestamps entries automatically and flags out-of-range readings for a corrective action. Checklist: Fridges and cool rooms reading 5°C or below. Hot holding reading 60°C or above. Probe thermometer clean, sanitised and calibrated. Temperatures recorded for each checkpoint. Corrective actions recorded for any out-of-range readings. Common mistakes: Trusting the fridge's built-in display instead of probing the food. Leaving deliveries or prep out on the bench 'just for a few minutes' that become hours. Overloading a bain-marie so the food in the middle drops below 60°C. Not recording temperatures, so there's no evidence the control worked.