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 range between 5°C and 60°C is the "temperature danger zone", where food-poisoning bacteria multiply fastest. Cook and reheat to a core of 75°C, hold hot food at 60°C or above, cool cooked food in two stages, and record every reading. Keeping food out of the danger zone — and proving it — is the single most important daily food-safety control. Key takeaways: Keep cold potentially hazardous food at 5°C or below, and hot food at 60°C or above.. The 5°C to 60°C 'danger zone' is where food-poisoning bacteria grow fastest — minimise time in it.. Cook and reheat to a core of 75°C (or a validated combination such as 70°C for 2 minutes).. Cool cooked food from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, then 21°C to 5°C within a further 4 hours.. Recording temperatures is how you prove to an inspector that your controls are working.. Safe food temperatures cheat-sheet: Control point, Target temperature, Notes. Temperature danger zone — 5°C to 60°C — Where bacteria grow fastest — minimise time in it. Cold holding / display — 5°C or below — Aim lower to allow for busy periods. Fridge / cool room — 0–5°C — Check food, not just the display. Freezer — -18°C or colder — Frozen solid, no soft spots. Hot holding / display — 60°C or above — Don't overfill the unit. Cooking & reheating — Core of 75°C — Or 70°C for 2 minutes (validated). Two-stage cooling — 60→21°C in 2h, then 21→5°C in 4h — Shallow trays; ice bath or blast chiller. What is 'potentially hazardous food'? Potentially hazardous food (PHF) is food that must be kept under temperature control to limit the growth of pathogens or the formation of toxins. These are the foods the 5°C and 60°C rule is designed to protect. If you handle any of them, temperature control is not optional — it is the core of your day-to-day food safety. Raw and cooked meat and poultry. Dairy foods, eggs and egg products. Seafood (other than live). Cooked rice and cooked pasta. Prepared salads, cut fruit and cut vegetables. Processed and ready-to-eat foods containing any of the above. The 5°C and 60°C rule and the danger zone The rule is simple to state and hard to beat: keep cold potentially hazardous food at 5°C or below, and hot potentially hazardous food at 60°C or above. Everything between 5°C and 60°C is the temperature danger zone. In that range, common food-poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli can double roughly every 20 to 30 minutes at their fastest. Food can look, smell and taste completely normal while carrying enough bacteria — or heat-stable toxins — to make people sick. Temperature control works because it removes the warmth bacteria need to multiply, which is why it sits at the centre of every food safety program and underpins the tools required under /standard-3-2-2a. Safe food temperatures cheat-sheet Most daily decisions come down to a handful of numbers. Keep this cheat-sheet where staff can see it, and check the food itself with a probe rather than trusting a unit's display. For quick reference you can also print the chart at /free-tools/fridge-freezer-temperature-chart and pin it to each fridge and cool room. Cold holding and display: 5°C or below. Fridge and cool room: 0–5°C. Freezer: -18°C or colder. Hot holding and display: 60°C or above. Cooking and reheating: a core of 75°C (or a validated time/temperature combination such as 70°C for 2 minutes). Two-stage cooling: 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, then 21°C to 5°C within a further 4 hours. Cooking and reheating to a safe temperature Cooking and reheating are your two best chances to destroy bacteria, so finish the job properly. Cook potentially hazardous food to a core temperature of 75°C, measured in the thickest part or centre with a clean probe. A validated time/temperature combination — such as holding 70°C for 2 minutes — achieves the same result for some foods. When you reheat previously cooked food for hot holding, heat it rapidly all the way through to 75°C as well; lukewarm reheating leaves food sitting in the danger zone and lets any surviving bacteria grow. Reheat once only, and never use hot holding equipment such as a bain-marie to bring cold food up to temperature. For step-by-step detail, see /free-tools/reheating-temperature-guide and /free-tools/safe-cooking-temperatures. Two-stage cooling done right Cooling is where many kitchens quietly lose control, because large pots of cooked food can sit for hours in the danger zone as they come down. Australian guidance expects a two-stage cool: get food from 60°C down to 21°C within 2 hours, then from 21°C down to 5°C within a further 4 hours. If the first stage takes longer than 2 hours, the food has spent too long in the warmest part of the danger zone and should be reheated to 75°C and cooled again, or discarded. Divide large batches into shallow containers so heat escapes quickly. Use an ice bath or blast chiller for dense foods like stews, rice and curries. Leave containers uncovered or loosely covered while cooling, then cover once chilled. Probe the food to confirm it has reached each stage — don't assume. Plan the free /free-tools/cooling-time-calculator into your prep schedule. The 2-hour / 4-hour rule for food out of control Not every task can happen inside a fridge or bain-marie. When ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food is out of temperature control — during prep, transport, buffets or service — use the 2-hour/4-hour rule to decide its fate. It counts the total time in the danger zone across the food's whole life, not just one session. If you have been tracking time carefully, this rule turns a judgement call into a clear decision. Under 2 hours total: safe to use now, or refrigerate for later. Between 2 and 4 hours total: use it now — do not put it back in the fridge. Over 4 hours total: throw it out. For the full method, see the guide at /guides and the free temperature tools. Cold and hot holding in practice Cold food should be stored at 5°C or below in fridges, cool rooms and cold display units; aim a little lower to allow for door openings and busy periods. Hot food being displayed or held for service should stay at 60°C or above in bain-maries, hot boxes or ovens. Give chilling and heating equipment time to reach the right temperature before food goes in, and don't overload a unit — air and heat need to circulate so food in the middle doesn't drift into the danger zone. 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 — circulation keeps every portion safe. How to measure and record temperatures Use a probe thermometer to check the temperature of the food itself, inserting it into the thickest part or centre and cleaning and sanitising the probe between foods. Calibrate it regularly against iced water (0°C) or boiling water (100°C) so readings stay accurate. Then record what you measure: a history of readings is the evidence that shows an inspector your controls work, and Standard 3.2.2A expects many businesses to be able to substantiate exactly that. A digital log timestamps entries automatically and flags out-of-range readings so you can record the corrective action you took — the free /free-tools/temperature-log-generator builds a ready-to-use sheet for fridges, cool rooms and hot holding. Worked examples: An overloaded bain-marie: During a busy lunch, staff pile extra containers into the bain-marie. The food in the middle drops below 60°C into the danger zone, even though the unit looks full and hot. Probing the food itself, rather than trusting the display, reveals the problem. Not overfilling the unit lets heat circulate so every container stays at 60°C or above. A delivery left on the bench: A cold delivery is left on the bench 'just for a few minutes' while other tasks are finished, and the few minutes become hours in the 5°C to 60°C danger zone. Getting cold potentially hazardous food into the fridge quickly, and recording the delivery temperature, keeps it out of the zone where bacteria multiply fastest. A big pot of curry cooled too slowly: A large pot of curry is left to cool on the bench overnight. By morning it has spent far longer than 2 hours between 60°C and 21°C. Split into shallow trays and placed in an ice bath, the same curry would have hit 21°C within 2 hours and 5°C within a further 4 — the two-stage cooling target. Checklist: Fridges and cool rooms reading 0–5°C. Freezers reading -18°C or colder. Hot holding reading 60°C or above. Cooked and reheated food reaching a core of 75°C. Cooling tracked through both stages (60→21°C in 2h, 21→5°C in 4h). Probe thermometer clean, sanitised and calibrated. Temperatures and corrective actions recorded for each checkpoint. 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. Cooling a big pot on the bench so it sits for hours in the danger zone. Using hot holding equipment to reheat cold food instead of heating it rapidly to 75°C. Not recording temperatures, so there's no evidence the control worked.