Frequently Asked Questions

Temperature Control

How do you check the temperature of food on delivery, without tampering with the packaging?

How is food set up for tasting maintained at the right temperature?

What should I do if suppliers deliver food outside the hours of operation, and leave the food on the ground outside?

How often should we monitor, and should we keep temperature records of food delivered and food in our business?

Are thermostats on cool rooms and bain-maries reliable? How do we check them?

What sort of thermometers are required - probe or infrared?

Probe thermometers are required to check the core temperature of food, especially for cooking, reheating, hot holding or cold storage food temperatures.

Infrared thermometers are useful but only measure the surface temperature of the foods, thus they are only useful for certain applications such as a quick temperature check of food on delivery.  You cannot check core food temperatures with an infrared thermometer.

Remember that you must also regularly calibrate your thermometers. While it is relatively easy to calibrate a probe thermometer using the ice-point or boiling-point method, it is much harder to accurately calibrate an infrared thermometer. Often, you will need to send the infrared thermometer back to the manufacturer to be calibrated.


How soon should potentially hazardous food be refrigerated after it is cooked?

How do I know that the truck operator has not had potentially hazardous food out of temperature control for more than 2 hours?

Can food be refrozen?

What are the best methods to defrost foods?

Will freezing/boiling food destroy bacteria?

Can you supply me with information on Food Safety for Churches and Community Groups?

Accreditations / Affiliations