Cooking Temperature Chart UK: Every Food at a Glance

The 75C standard provides a safety margin above the minimum lethal temperatures for common foodborne pathogens. At 75C, Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes are destroyed effectively instantly (within seconds). The equivalent time-temperature combination of 70C for 2 minutes achieves the same pathogen reduction but requires verification of both temperature and hold time, which is harder to implement in a busy kitchen. The 63C standard for fish reflects the lower pathogen load and different protein structure of fish compared to meat. The 63C hot holding minimum is the temperature below which bacterial growth accelerates in the danger zone. The 82C Scottish reheating standard provides additional assurance for food that has already been through one cooking and cooling cycle. The danger zone (8-63C) is the temperature range in which foodborne bacteria can multiply rapidly. Food should spend as little time as possible in this range during cooking, cooling, and reheating.

If any food does not reach the required core temperature: continue cooking and re-probe until the target is met. If food has been removed from heat and started cooling, return it to the cooking process. If food has been plated or served, recall and either recook (if within 2 hours of cooking) or discard. If reheated food does not reach 75C (or 82C in Scotland), continue reheating. Do not serve. Only reheat once. If hot-held food drops below 63C, use it within 2 hours or discard. Do not reheat hot-held food that has dropped below 63C and been in the danger zone for more than 2 hours. Record every corrective action with the date, time, food item, initial temperature, action taken, final temperature, and the name of the person who handled it.