UK Food Safety Temperatures Chart 2026 (Free Download)

Last updated: June 2026

UK food safety temperatures, in one line: keep your fridge at 5°C or below (legal maximum 8°C), your freezer at -18°C or below, hot holding at 63°C or above, and cook or reheat food to a core 75°C for 30 seconds. The danger zone, where bacteria multiply fastest, is 8°C to 63°C, so food should move through it quickly.

Getting this wrong is the most common reason venues lose points in an EHO inspection, and the stakes are real. The Food Standards Agency estimates 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness in the UK each year, costing society around £10.4 billion. Most of it is preventable with consistent temperature control.

This guide covers every UK food safety temperature in one place: chilled storage, freezing, deliveries, cooking, reheating, hot holding, cooling, defrosting and probe calibration. All figures follow FSA guidance.

Fridges (UK food safety law)

• Target: 1-8°C (ideal 5°C)
• Record: at least twice daily per fridge
• If out of range: retake in 1 hour; if still high, remove from service and record corrective action
• Segregation: store raw and ready-to-eat separately to prevent cross-contamination

Freezers

• Target: ≤ -18°C
• Record: at least twice daily per freezer
• If warmer than -18°C: retake in 1 hour. If still high, remove from service and record corrective action
• Segregation: store raw and ready-to-eat separately to prevent cross-contamination

Food deliveries: acceptance temperatures

Record temperatures on arrival and document accept/reject decisions.

• Chilled items: 1-8°C
• Quick-frozen items: ≤ -18°C (acceptable to -15°C if unavoidable and re-frozen immediately)
• Normally frozen items: ≤ -15°C (acceptable to -12°C)
• If out of range: reject or isolate and log corrective action and reason for acceptance

Cooking temperatures

Probe the centre/thickest part of the food.

• Standard target: 75°C for 30 seconds
• Accepted time/temperature equivalents:
  • 60°C for 45 minutes
  • 65°C for 10 minutes
  • 70°C for 2 minutes
  • 80°C for 6 seconds

Batch policy: record the first batch and when you change product, size, load or equipment; spot-check during service.

Reheating temperatures

• Target: 75°C for 30 seconds (or the same equivalents above)
• Good practice: reheat rapidly, don't hot-hold from cold. Reach safe core temp before service

Hot holding

• Target: ≥ 63°C
• Monitoring: check at sensible intervals (e.g. every 2 hours) and log
• Time in lieu of temperature: food that drops below 63°C may be kept out of temperature control for up to 2 hours once only, then use, cool, or discard

Cooling

Cool cooked foods promptly to reduce bacterial growth:

• Goal: Cool from cooking to ≤ 8°C within 2 hours
• How to speed it up: shallow trays, smaller portions, blast chiller, ice bath; avoid tight lids while hot
• Logging: record start time/method and when food reaches ≤ 8°C

Cold holding / display

• Chilled display: keep ready-to-eat foods ≤ 8°C
• Buffets & events: where refrigeration isn't practical, use time control - max 4 hours unrefrigerated, then discard; clearly mark the start time

Defrosting

• Defrost in the fridge (≤ 8°C) or under cold running water
• Keep foods covered and separate from ready-to-eat items while thawing
• Drain and cook promptly; never re-freeze raw foods once fully thawed (unless cooked first)

Probe care & calibration

• Between uses: sanitise probes with food-safe wipes
• Regular calibration: check in boiling water (~100°C) and ice water (~0°C) and record results
• If off: recalibrate or replace and note the corrective action

Quality vs food safety

Some checks are essential good practice, but not food hygiene items:

• Cellar temperatures: 10-13°C (beer/wine quality)
• Legionella checks: Hot ≥ 50°C, Cold ≤ 20°C (health & safety)

Opening & closing checks

• Visual cleanliness & equipment check
• Pest evidence checks
• Fridge/freezer log reminders
• Probes present, charged, sanitised

Make It Bulletproof with Aquaint

Aquaint makes this effortless:

• Twice-daily fridge/freezer prompts per unit
• Delivery temperature capture with accept/reject actions
• Cook/reheat records with time/temperature equivalents built-in
• Hot-hold timers and alerts for the 2-hour rule
• Cooling workflows with timestamps and methods
• Calibration logs with pass/fail and corrective action
• EHO-ready reports in one tap (site, date range, team)

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FAQs

What is the legal fridge temperature in the UK?
Keep chilled foods at 8°C or below. Most kitchens target 5°C to stay comfortably within range. See the FSA Safer Food Better Business guide for full requirements.

What temperature should freezers be in the UK?
-18°C or colder. Record at least twice daily per unit. This is a legal requirement under the Food Safety Act 1990.

What temperature should food be cooked to in the UK?
A common safe target is 75°C for 30 seconds at the core. You can also use approved time/temperature equivalents like 70°C for 2 minutes. See the FSA HACCP guidance for full details.

What temperature is hot holding in the UK?
63°C or above. If food drops below this, you can use time control for up to 2 hours once only.

How quickly must food be cooled?
From cooking to ≤ 8°C within 90 minutes-2 hours. Use shallow pans, blast chillers or ice baths to speed it up.

Can I defrost food at room temperature?
No. Defrost in the fridge or under cold running water. Keep separate from ready-to-eat foods.

Do I need to calibrate my probe?
Yes. Check ~100°C (boiling) and ~0°C (ice water) regularly and record the results.

What happens if my fridge goes out of temperature during service?
Record the issue, retake the temperature after 1 hour. If still high, remove the unit from service and document the corrective action. Keep a compliance log for your EHO inspection.

If cold food rises above 8°C, how long do you have?
Under the 4-hour rule, chilled food displayed above 8°C can be kept for a single period of up to 4 hours, then it must be used or thrown away. Start timing from when it leaves temperature control.

What is the maximum time to cool cooked food in the UK?
Cool cooked food from hot to 8°C or below within 90 minutes to 2 hours. Use shallow trays, smaller portions, a blast chiller or an ice bath to speed it up, and log the start and finish.

What is the legal freezer temperature in the UK?
-18°C or below. This applies to every commercial freezer. Record it at least twice daily per unit and act if it rises above -18°C.

Related reading

• HACCP Plan Template for UK Hospitality (Free PDF)
• UK Fridge & Freezer Temperatures
• UK Cooking & Reheating Temperatures
• UK Hot Holding Temperatures

• EHO Inspection Checklist 2026: Get 5 Stars
• 14 UK Allergens: The Hospitality Team's Guide
• Paper vs Digital Compliance: Why Hospitality Venues Are Making the Switch
• The Compliance Reporting Checklist Every Hospitality Venue Needs