Cooking and hot-holding temperatures
Probe and record the core temperature of cooked food — 75°C, or an equivalent time/temperature combination — and check hot-held food stays above 63°C throughout service.
Probe and record the core temperature of cooked food — 75°C, or an equivalent time/temperature combination — and check hot-held food stays above 63°C throughout service. Log both, not just one.
Undercooked food and food that has dropped below safe holding temperature are the direct cause of most foodborne illness traced back to a kitchen. A logged reading is your evidence the food was safe to serve on the day something is later called into question.
Covers the cooking and holding temperatures your records need to show.
Who this is for
Any venue with a full kitchen cooking food to order.
What you’ll hold
- Cooking / hot-holding temperature log
Watch out for
- Probing the same "easy" dish every day and assuming the rest of the menu is fine.
- Recording hot-holding temperature once at the start of service and not again — food sitting for hours can drift below 63°C unnoticed.
- Not cleaning the probe between raw and cooked checks, contaminating the food you are trying to prove is safe.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Food hygiene for businesses: cooking food safely checked 2026-09-08
See also
- Fridge and freezer temperatures
- Probe thermometer accuracy check
- Put your HACCP system in place— this becomes part of getting open →
This is item 8 of 60 in the free UK Compliance Calendar. See the whole list →