Detailed insights and comprehensive analysis to help your food business stay compliant.
Under the Food Standards Code Standard 3.2.2, potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or below for cold storage. This applies to all refrigeration equipment including cool rooms, display fridges, and under-bench refrigerators.
Most foodborne illness-causing bacteria multiply rapidly in the Temperature Danger Zone — between 5°C and 60°C. At room temperature (around 21°C), pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus can double in number every 20 minutes.
Your Food Safety Program must include a monitoring procedure for cool room temperatures, typically a daily temperature log checked at the beginning and end of each shift. Temperatures should be recorded using a calibrated thermometer, not just read off the built-in dial (which often reads higher than actual product temperature).
If your cool room rises above 5°C, your corrective action procedure should include: checking food for signs of spoilage, assessing time above temperature using the 2-hour/4-hour rule, discarding food where appropriate, and documenting the incident and actions taken.