Food Standards Australia New Zealand

If you're a food business that handles potentially hazardous food, it's important to use a thermometer to check your food is at the right temperature to be sure it is safe to eat.

What are the requirements?

Under Standard 3.2.2 - Food Safety Practices and General Requirements, food businesses that handle potentially hazardous food need to have an accurate and accessible thermometer. This means:

• there is at least one thermometer somewhere easy to get to (e.g. in an unlocked drawer in the kitchen)
• the thermometer is accurate to within 1°C.

Which thermometer is best?

• A digital probe thermometer is usually best for measuring food temperatures. They are inexpensive and are available from catering and kitchen supply shops.
• Infrared 'gun' thermometers are useful for quick checks and for packaged food - but only measure the surface temperature.
• Temperature gauges on equipment like bain maries and refrigerators measure the equipment's temperature - but to be sure of the actual food's temperature you should use a probe thermometer.

Check your food's temperature

• Food that is received, stored, displayed or transported should be 5°C or colder, or 60°C or hotter, unless you can show another temperature is safe.
• Cooling and reheating food need to be done to certain temperatures within time limits (see our InfoBite on Cooling and reheating).

Getting it right

• Clean and sanitise probe thermometers before and after use - use warm soapy water and an alcohol wipe.
• Place the probe into the thickest part of the food and wait until the temperature stabilises before reading it.
• Measure packaged chilled food by placing the thermometer length-wise along or between packages.
• Measure the temperature of different foods in your refrigerator or display unit to check if there are spots where food is not at the right temperature.
• Don't rely only on fixed temperature gauges on equipment - measure the actual food with a probe thermometer to be sure.
• Keep your thermometer in good condition - have it calibrated regularly, replace flat batteries, repair or replace it if it breaks.

More information

• Safe Food Australia is a guide to the food safety standards in Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code. Thermometers are covered under Standard 3.2.2 clause 22. Potentially hazardous foods are explained in Appendix 1.

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