The maximum or minimum value a parameter must reach at a critical control point to keep food safe.
Cold holding potentially hazardous food at or below 5 degrees Celsius, or cooking to a core temperature of 75 degrees Celsius, are common critical limits.
They are based on evidence and are often drawn from the Food Standards Code, FSANZ guidance or validated process data for the specific food.
A critical limit is the boundary between safe and unsafe. Businesses often set a tighter operating target so they act before the critical limit is breached.
Yes. The two hour and four hour rule uses time as the limit for how long potentially hazardous food can be out of temperature control.
The predefined corrective action must be taken and recorded, because exceeding the limit means the hazard may not have been controlled.