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Food Handling Controls (Show all)

Are potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food out of temperature control for minimum time while being processed?

Guidance

Food businesses may process potentially hazardous food at temperatures that permit the growth of pathogens as long as they monitor the time that food is at these temperatures and keep this time to a minimum. If potentially hazardous foods are outside refrigeration multiple times during preparation, these times must be noted and added together to ensure that they do not exceed safe limits. Note that this only refers to ready-to-eat food and not raw food that will be cooked or otherwise processed to reduce pathogens to safe levels. The total time that ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food can be outside temperature control is discussed in Appendix A.

The time that raw potentially hazardous foods such as raw meat are outside temperature control during processing (which includes preparation) should be kept to a minimum. The main reason is to minimise the growth of pathogens.

Certain bacteria in some fish can produce dangerous levels of histamine (a toxin) if these fish are kept unrefrigerated for too long. Cooking does not destroy this toxin. It is essential that raw fish be kept outside temperature control for a minimum time. Fish that contains dangerous levels of histamine may not appear spoiled.

Thawing Food

Thawing frozen potentially hazardous food at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C may allow food poisoning bacteria to grow. The food safety risk is much higher for frozen ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food being thawed than for frozen raw potentially hazardous foods that will be cooked or otherwise processed to make them safe before eating.

Ready-to-eat frozen potentially hazardous foods should be thawed in a refrigerator, or alternatively in the microwave. If the food is thawed at room temperature, the time that the food is at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C must be noted to ensure safe time limits are not exceeded (see Appendix A for details).

Frozen raw meats (e.g. chicken and turkey) may be able to be safely thawed outside refrigeration as foodborne pathogens that may grow during the thawing process should be destroyed when the meat is cooked. However, if these meats are thawed outside refrigeration, there is a risk of the meat spoiling due to the growth of microorganisms.

When thawing frozen raw meats, there are two critical food safety considerations:

  1. Juices from the raw meats must not contaminate other foods.
  2. Raw meats must be thawed completely before cooking unless the meats can be safely cooked from a frozen or partially frozen state.

Small portions of raw frozen meat and fish may be able to be safely cooked without the need for complete thawing (e.g. foods such as beef burgers and chicken nuggets are often cooked from the frozen state). However, if larger portions of raw meat such as chickens and turkeys are still partly frozen before cooking, it is harder to cook them thoroughly. There may also be sufficient time during cooking for food poisoning bacteria to grow to dangerous levels or for heat-stable toxins to be produced. Food poisoning incidents have resulted from cooking partially thawed meats.

The various ways that frozen potentially hazardous food can be thawed are explained in the table below.

Thawing Method Advantages Disadvantages
Refrigerator Microbial growth minimised: food will be maintained at 5°C or below, minimising pathogen growth. Time: it can take several days to thaw a food completely and therefore the business needs to plan well ahead if this method is chosen. Space: refrigerator space may be limited for thawing purposes.
Microwave Quickest: this method is the fastest option for thawing. Microbial growth minimised: food will only be at temperatures between 5°C and 60°C for a short period. Incomplete or over-thawing: to achieve complete thawing, food may partially cook, reducing food quality. Space: larger items may not fit in microwave for thawing.
Running water Quicker: this method will be quicker than a refrigerator. Cost and availability: cost and availability of water may make this option impracticable. Space: business must have a sink available that can be used for this purpose. Suitability: this option will not be suitable for foods susceptible to water damage unless the food is contained within impermeable packaging. Microbial growth: the extent of microbial growth will depend on the temperature of the water used—the lower the temperature, the less growth expected.
Room temperature Quicker: this method will be quicker than a refrigerator. Microbial growth: the time that ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food is at temperatures between 5°C and 60°C must be monitored to ensure safe limits are not exceeded; growth of organisms in raw meats may cause the food to spoil; and production of histamine toxin may occur in certain types of raw fish.
Non-complianceMinor
  • N/A
Major
  • Ready to eat foods are kept out of temperature control during preparation without time monitoring in place in accordance with safe time limits (see Appendix A). E.g. curried egg is prepared in the morning and placed on the bench to cool before use and remains out of temperature control during preparation of sandwich platters.
  • Poached chicken is left on the bench to cool and used in salads with any leftover chicken returned to the cool room for use the next day without time/temperature monitoring.
Critical
  • The business cooks large portions of frozen or partially thawed meats leading to inadequate cooking temperatures.
  • Ready to eat foods defrosted outside of temperature control without documentation demonstrating compliance with safe time controls (see Appendix A). E.g. frozen ham defrosted at room temperature for 6 hours.
  • Frozen fish capable of producing histamine thawed at room temperature. E.g. tuna fillets are defrosted on the bench allowing levels of histamine to increase that is not destroyed when cooking resulting in food poisoning.
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