Temperature is the control most kitchens rely on and the one most often recorded badly. The danger zone is the range in which bacteria multiply fastest, and the whole point of the chilling, cooking and hot holding rules is to move food through that range quickly or keep it out of it entirely.
The danger zone
Between 8 and 63 degrees Celsius is the range GB food hygiene practice treats as the danger zone, with the fastest growth in the middle of it. Chilled food is held at or below 8 degrees by law in England, and good practice targets 5 degrees or below to leave headroom.
Cooking and reheating
The widely used working standard is a core temperature of 75 degrees Celsius, or an equivalent time and temperature combination such as 70 degrees for two minutes. Reheating in England is expected to reach the same core standard, and a probe rather than a guess is what evidences it.
Hot holding and cooling
Hot held food is kept at or above 63 degrees. Cooling is the step most often missed: food should move through the danger zone quickly rather than sitting on a bench, and the FSA's guidance on chilling sets out the practice and the records.
Freezer temperatures
Frozen storage is normally run at minus 18 degrees Celsius or below. A freezer that has drifted is a records problem as much as a food one, because without checks nobody knows how long it drifted for.
Questions people ask about food safety temperatures uk
What temperature is the danger zone?
Between 8 and 63 degrees Celsius in GB practice. Food should be kept below or above that range rather than within it.
What core temperature should food be cooked to?
75 degrees Celsius is the commonly used core standard, or an equivalent combination such as 70 degrees held for two minutes. Check with a clean, calibrated probe.
What temperature should a freezer be?
Minus 18 degrees Celsius or below is standard for frozen storage, checked and recorded like any other critical limit.