Food hygiene for businesses
Chilling and freezing
Chilling food
Chilled food must be kept at 8°C or below. This is a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It’s recommended in Scotland.
Set your fridge to 5°C or below to make sure food stays cold enough, even if the temperature changes.
You can keep chilled food out of the fridge for up to 4 hours, then you must throw it away. If it’s been out for less than 4 hours, it can be put back in the fridge.
Foods that need to be kept chilled to stop harmful bacteria from growing include:
- food with a use-by date
- cooked dishes
- ready-to-eat food such as prepared salads and desserts
Freezing food
When freezing food you need to:
- put frozen food in the freezer as soon as it is delivered
- freeze fresh food before its use-by date and note the date you froze it
- divide food into smaller portions before freezing
- cool cooked dishes before putting them in the freezer
- label everything you freeze
Check the rules for freezing seafood intended to be eaten raw or lightly cooked.
Defrosting food
Food must be fully defrosted before cooking unless the manufacturer’s instructions say to cook from frozen.
Put frozen food in the fridge to defrost it safely.
If you cannot defrost food in the fridge either:
- place it in a container under cold running water (the container should be sealed if you’re defrosting raw meat or poultry)
- use the defrost setting on a microwave.
Bacteria can grow if defrosting food is kept between 8°C and 63°C.