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Australian food law draws its temperature line at 5 °C and 60 °C: potentially hazardous food stays at or below the first, at or above the second, and time between them is strictly budgeted. Here are the numbers, the rule everyone half-remembers, and the records that show control.
Sources checked 2026-07-09 · your local authority always has the final say.
Australia · the key numbers
The 2-hour/4-hour rule counts TOTAL cumulative time between 5 °C and 60 °C across the food's life.
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:
Standard 3.2.2A's substantiation requirement makes temperature records the practical evidence that receipt, storage and display of potentially hazardous food are under control: fridge readings at least daily (twice is the safer rhythm), delivery temperatures at goods-in, hot-holding checks, and a corrective action noted whenever a reading lands in the danger zone.
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.
Common questions
Cold potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5 °C or below under the Food Standards Code. Check units at least daily — twice daily is the safer rhythm — and record the reading, not just a tick.
It budgets total cumulative time between 5 °C and 60 °C: under 2 hours, the food can be refrigerated or used; between 2 and 4 hours it must be used promptly and can't be re-chilled; over 4 hours it must be discarded. The clock counts every period in the danger zone across the food's life, not just the latest one.
Hot potentially hazardous food must be held at 60 °C or above. Anything cooler is danger-zone time and counts against the 2-hour/4-hour budget.
Keep going
Links verified 2026-07-09. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it.
More guides: Standard 3.2.2A · Food safety programs (AU)
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