Food Safety Quick Reference
Safe temperatures · 2-hour/4-hour rule · cleaning · allergens (Australia)
Melbourne Tech Institute RTO #45799 · melbtech.edu.au
Safe temperatures
- Cold storage5°C or colder
- Temperature danger zone5°C – 60°C
- Hot holding60°C or hotter
- Cooking — poultry, mince, sausages, rolled roasts75°C in the centre
- Reheatingrapidly to 60°C or hotter
2-hour / 4-hour rule
Ready-to-eat hazardous food in the danger zone (5–60°C):
- Under 2 hours: Safe to use, or put back in the fridge.
- 2 to 4 hours: Still safe to use — but use it now; don’t refrigerate it again.
- More than 4 hours: Throw it out.
Clean, then sanitise
- Clean first — wash with warm water and detergent to remove visible dirt, grease and food scraps.
- Then sanitise — use heat or a chemical sanitiser to reduce remaining micro-organisms to a safe level.
- Follow the sanitiser’s instructions for dilution and contact time, and let surfaces air-dry where possible.
Priority allergens to declare
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustacea
- Molluscs
- Egg
- Fish
- Milk
- Peanut
- Tree nuts
- Sesame
- Soy
- Lupin
- Added sulphites
Declare in bold + a “Contains” statement (PEAL).