Safe food temperatures in Australia: 5 °C, 60 °C and the 2-hour/4-hour rule

Under the Food Standards Code, potentially hazardous food — meat, dairy, cooked rice and pasta, prepared salads, anything that supports bacterial growth — must be kept at or below 5 °C, or at or above 60 °C. Between those numbers is the danger zone where bacteria multiply fastest.

In a cafe that translates to fridges holding at 5 °C or below (with display units watched closely — they struggle on hot days), and hot-held food — pies in the warmer, soup at the pass — at 60 °C or above.

Food will spend some time in the danger zone — during prep, on display, in transit. The 2-hour/4-hour rule budgets it, counting total cumulative time between 5 °C and 60 °C:

Cool cooked potentially hazardous food from 60 °C to 21 °C within two hours, then from 21 °C to 5 °C within a further four hours, unless you can demonstrate a safe alternative. Record both stages; a final fridge reading alone does not show how quickly the food cooled.

For reheating to hot hold, heat rapidly to at least 60 °C. FSANZ recommends doing this within two hours. Cooking targets depend on the food and process; a generic starter target is not a universal legal minimum. Review ProCafe's editable cooking and reheating settings against your validated method.

For category one businesses, records can substantiate prescribed food-handling controls. Record the food or activity, time, temperature and any action taken. Choose checking frequencies that show control during your actual operation; there is no universal twice-daily rule for every Australian cafe.

If you're using the 2-hour/4-hour rule for displayed food, time it honestly — a note of when the tray went out is the difference between a rule and a guess. Your council environmental health officer will ask how you know.