Managing both how hot or cold food is and how long it spends in the danger zone to keep potentially hazardous food safe.
Managing both how hot or cold food is and how long it spends in the danger zone to keep potentially hazardous food safe. Time/temperature control is the combined management of temperature and time to keep potentially hazardous food safe. Bacteria grow when food is in the temperature danger zone of 5 degrees C to 60 degrees C, and how much they grow depends both on the temperature and on how long the food stays there. Controlling these two factors together is the foundation of safe food handling and the basis of most rules in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code that deal with hot and cold food. The temperature side means keeping cold food at or below 5 degrees C and hot food at or above 60 degrees C, so bacteria cannot grow quickly. The time side means limiting how long food spends in the danger zone during unavoidable steps such as preparation, cooling and reheating, and applying the 2-hour / 4-hour rule to ready-to-eat food. Together they cover the whole life of the food, from receipt through storage, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding and service. In an Australian food business, time/temperature control shows up as a set of everyday practices: checking delivery temperatures, storing cold food at or below 5 degrees C and hot food at or above 60 degrees C, cooling cooked food through the danger zone within the required times, reheating rapidly to 60 degrees C, and tracking ready-to-eat food against the 2-hour / 4-hour rule. A probe thermometer and simple timing records make these controls work. These controls are usually built into the business food safety program, with monitoring records showing temperatures and times at key steps. Businesses that use time as the main control, rather than temperature, are generally expected to be able to justify and document how they keep the food safe. Time/temperature control is a core part of the skills and knowledge that food handlers and food safety supervisors need. A catering business maps out time/temperature control for a wedding: chilled ingredients kept at or below 5 degrees C, mains cooked and then hot held at or above 60 degrees C, leftovers cooled from 60 to 21 degrees C within 2 hours and to 5 degrees C within a further 4 hours, and any grazing-table items tracked against the 2-hour / 4-hour rule, with temperatures logged throughout.
Frequently asked questions
What is time/temperature control?
It is managing both how hot or cold food is and how long it spends in the danger zone, so potentially hazardous food stays safe.
Why does time matter as well as temperature?
Bacteria grow in the danger zone over time, so both the temperature of the food and how long it stays in the zone determine whether it becomes unsafe.
What are the key temperatures to remember?
Cold food at or below 5 degrees C, hot food at or above 60 degrees C, and the danger zone in between from 5 degrees C to 60 degrees C.
How does time control work when temperature control is not possible?
For ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food in the danger zone, the 2-hour / 4-hour rule sets how long it can be used, refrigerated or must be discarded.
How do I show my time/temperature controls are working?
Keep monitoring records of temperatures and times at key steps as part of your food safety program, using a calibrated probe thermometer.
