What you need to do

• Put food that needs to be chilled in the fridge straight away.
• Cool cooked food as quickly as possible and then put it in the fridge.
• Keep chilled food out of the fridge for the shortest time possible during preparation.
• Don't overload the fridge.

• Check chilled food on delivery to make sure it’s cold.
• Check that food that needs to be chilled is put in the fridge as soon as it arrives.
• Check regularly that your fridge and display units are cold enough.
• Check the time between cooking food and chilling it. This shouldn’t be longer than one to two hours.

Keep It Cool

Remember, chilled food must be kept below 8°C.

When you’re serving or displaying chilled food you can keep it above 8°C for a maximum of four hours. You can only do this once. Then you must throw away the food or keep it chilled until it’s used.

What you need to do

• Don’t serve any food that isn’t properly cooked.
• Once food is cooked, serve it immediately or keep it hot until serving.
• If you’re cooking food in advance, cool and chill it quickly.

• Inspect food to make sure it’s thoroughly cooked. For example, check that it’s piping hot all the way through and that meat juices run clear.
• Check regularly that hot food is kept hot until serving.

Keep It Hot

Remember, hot food must be kept above 63°C (145°F). When you’re serving or displaying hot food, you can keep it below 63°C for a maximum of two hours. You can only do this once. Then you must throw away the food, or cool it as quickly as possible and keep it chilled until it’s used.