The temperature at the centre or thickest part of a food, which is what must be measured to confirm it is safely hot or cold.
It is the temperature at the centre or thickest part of a food, which is the slowest part to heat or cool and the key measure of whether the food is safe.
The outside can reach a safe temperature well before the middle. The centre is where bacteria are most likely to survive, so it is what must be checked.
Insert a clean, sanitised probe into the thickest part or centre, wait for the reading to settle, and avoid touching bone, the tray or the container base.
Cooking, reheating to 60 degrees C, cooling through 21 degrees C then 5 degrees C, and hot or cold holding all depend on the core reading, not the surface.
Use a calibrated probe thermometer, clean and sanitise it between foods, and let the reading stabilise before recording it.