The 4 Cs are cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross contamination, and they are the FSA's way of grouping everything a food business does into four things a person on shift can remember. They are not a legal test, but almost every requirement in a food safety management system sits under one of them.
Cleaning
Surfaces, equipment and hands, with a cleaning schedule that says what, how, how often and with what. Two stage cleaning on food contact surfaces, and a disinfectant that meets the relevant standard and is left on for its contact time rather than wiped straight off.
Cooking
Cooking food thoroughly and checking it, with a probe rather than by appearance. This is the step that kills pathogens and is a critical control point in almost every kitchen, which is why the core temperature and the probe that measures it carry so much of the system.
Chilling
Cold food kept cold, hot food cooled fast, deliveries put away immediately, and temperatures checked and recorded. Chilling is where most of the recording burden sits, because it is the control that runs continuously rather than at one point in the process and therefore has to be evidenced continuously.
Cross contamination
Keeping raw and ready to eat food apart in storage, preparation, equipment and hands. Separate boards and equipment, correct fridge order, handwashing between tasks, and no raw meat above anything that will be eaten as it is. Cross contamination is the cause behind most of the outbreaks the guidance is written around.
Questions people ask about 4 cs of food safety
What are the 4 Cs of food safety?
Cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross contamination. The same four are used for food hygiene, and the names are interchangeable in practice.
What is cross contamination?
The transfer of bacteria or allergens from one food, surface, piece of equipment or person to another, most seriously from raw food to food that will be eaten without further cooking.
Are the 4 Cs a legal requirement?
The four headings are guidance. The underlying controls are requirements, and a food safety management system covers all four whether or not it uses the names.