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be held above 65 °C, preferably at a minimum of 75 °C (oven, bain-marie etc.), for short
periods of time.
2. Defrosting foods in a sink or on the bench, at room temperature. The inner portion of food
might remain below 4 °C, however, the outer portions of the food rise above 4 °C, allowing
bacteria to multiply on the thawed surface. Foods should always be thawed in a refrigerator
or cold room, where the temperature remains constant and below the danger zone,
restricting rapid bacterial growth.
3. Allowing cooked foods to cool slowly before refrigerating them. Bacteria will multiply during
the cooling down process.

4. Cross contamination. Cutting products such as fruit, vegetables and bread on a cutting board
directly after using the same board for cutting raw meat products without properly cleaning
and sanitising boards between use. Cutting boards should be colour coded according to use
and cleaned after each use.
5. Using the same knife to cut seafood, poultry or meats or vegetables without cleaning the
knife between use.
6. Storing raw meats or defrosting meat products above ready-to-eat or cooked foods in the
cold room.
7. Not observing simple hygiene procedures such as washing hands before handling foods,
when handling different foods, after using the toilet, handling other raw produce or touching
hair, face etc.
8. Using dirty tea towels and cloths for wiping cutting boards, drying hands or wiping the bench.
9. Wiping the floor or bins with cloths or tea towels or sponges that might contact food or food
utensils.

10. Preparing food whilst unwell (e.g. with gastrointestinal illness or any other infectious
disease), or with exposed wounds and some skin disorders.

11. Using contaminated foods.
12. Not working with hair tied back or covered.

13. Having long, varnished or unclean fingernails.
14. Not using separate utensils for raw foods and ready-to-eat food.
15. Reheating food more than once.

16. Not covering or sealing foods properly during storage.
17. Placing foods that have been thawed in a microwave into cold storage for later use.

Clean and sanitise cold rooms regularly (at least weekly).
Storage

Your organisation should have regular procedures for checking, recording and validating temperature
controls-cold storage monitoring and data logging. These procedures should be incorporated into the
organisation's HACCP plan (or other recognised food plan).
Use-by dates on all packaged products should be noted and foods that have passed use-by dates
should be wasted. It is, therefore, important to regularly check supplies and to ensure appropriate
stock rotation procedures are maintained-FIFO-first in first out-to prevent waste.
When placing orders or when buying product, check use-by and best by dates to ensure that there is
sufficient use time. If there is not, these products will contribute to waste organisational costs.