Food intended to be eaten without further cooking or processing, so it needs careful handling to stay safe.
Food that is normally eaten without any further cooking or processing, such as sandwiches, salads, sushi, deli meats and cut fruit.
Because there is no final cooking step to kill bacteria, so any contamination on the food will not be removed before it is eaten.
Ready-to-eat food should be stored above and separate from raw food in the fridge to prevent drips and cross-contamination.
If it is potentially hazardous, yes. It should be held cold at 5 degrees Celsius or below, or hot at 60 degrees Celsius or above, unless a time-based control applies.
Businesses should minimise bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food, using clean utensils or gloves and strong handwashing to reduce contamination risk.