Cooked Food Temperature Check: How to Complete This Food Safety Check

Why cooked food temperature checks matter

Raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs can contain harmful bacteria like Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, and Listeria. Cooking to the correct temperature kills these bacteria, making food safe to eat.

The "danger zone" for bacterial growth is between 8°C and 63°C. Within this range, bacteria can double in number every 20 minutes. Above 63°C, most bacteria stop growing, and at 75°C, most harmful bacteria are killed within seconds.

However, reaching the right temperature on the outside is not enough. Bacteria are present throughout raw food, so the core, the coldest part at the centre, must reach the safe temperature. This is why we check with a probe thermometer rather than relying on appearance or cooking time alone.

Legal requirements

UK food safety law requires you to cook food thoroughly. While there is no single legally mandated temperature, guidance from the Food Standards Agency recommends cooking food to 75°C at the core for at least 2 seconds, or an equivalent time and temperature combination.

Environmental Health Officers will expect you to demonstrate that you check cooking temperatures for high-risk foods, particularly meat, poultry, and reheated dishes.

Target temperatures

The 75°C standard

The 75°C core temperature for 2 seconds is the UK benchmark because it provides a wide safety margin. At this temperature, virtually all harmful bacteria are killed instantly.

Lower temperatures can also be safe if held for longer periods. For example, 70°C for 2 minutes achieves the same bacterial kill. However, 75°C for 2 seconds is simpler to verify and provides a clear target for busy kitchens.

Whole muscle vs minced meat

Whole cuts of beef or lamb can be served pink in the middle because bacteria are only present on the surface. Searing the outside kills surface bacteria, while the inside was never contaminated.

Minced meat is different. The mincing process mixes surface bacteria throughout the product, so the entire burger or sausage must reach 75°C. Never serve minced meat products rare or pink.

When to complete this check

Required checks

Check cooked food temperature:

• For every batch of high-risk cooked food
• For the first item when cooking multiple identical items (e.g., first chicken breast of 20)
• For reheated food before serving
• When cooking method changes (new oven, different pan, different chef)
• For buffet and catered events where food will be held at temperature

What counts as high-risk

High-risk foods requiring temperature checks include:

• All poultry and poultry products
• Minced meat products (burgers, sausages, meatballs)
• Large joints of meat
• Reheated cooked food
• Dishes for vulnerable groups (elderly, children, immunocompromised)
• Foods that will be hot-held or cooled for later use

How to complete the check

Step 1: Identify the food item

Record what you are checking. Be specific, for example "Roast chicken breast" rather than just "chicken". This helps identify problems if issues arise later.

Step 2: Select cooked or reheated

Indicate whether the food was freshly cooked or reheated. Reheated food has different considerations because it has already been through the danger zone once during initial cooking and cooling.

Step 3: Take the temperature

Use a calibrated probe thermometer. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the food, the point that takes longest to cook. This is the core temperature.

For meat joints and poultry:

• Insert the probe into the thickest part of the flesh
• Avoid touching bone (bone conducts heat and gives false high readings)
• Avoid fat pockets (fat heats faster than meat)
• Check multiple points on large items

For burgers and sausages:

• Insert the probe into the centre
• The entire product should be above 75°C

For liquids and sauces:

• Stir before checking to distribute heat evenly
• Check at several points in the container

For reheated food:

• Check the centre of the container, which heats last
• Stir if possible and recheck

Step 4: Record the temperature

Record the reading in your monitoring system. In Pilla, you will enter the temperature number. If the temperature is below the target, continue cooking before recording a final temperature.

Step 5: Act on the result

If the core temperature is 75°C or above, the food is safe to serve or hold.

If below 75°C, continue cooking and recheck. Never serve food that has not reached the safe temperature.

What to do when food is undercooked

Temperature below 75°C

1. Continue cooking - Return food to heat source
2. Allow adequate time - Give enough time for heat to penetrate to the core
3. Recheck temperature - Test again after additional cooking
4. Repeat if necessary - Continue until 75°C is reached
5. Record the final temperature - Only record once safe temperature is achieved

Food that cannot be further cooked

Some foods cannot be returned to heat without overcooking the outside. In these cases:

• For large joints, slice and return to heat, or finish in a hot oven
• For individual portions, consider whether quality is acceptable if cooked longer
• If quality would be unacceptable, discard and start again

Never serve undercooked high-risk food. The consequence of food poisoning far outweighs the cost of discarding one portion.

Persistent problems

If food consistently fails temperature checks:

• Check oven calibration
• Review cooking times and temperatures
• Check if food is too cold when starting (e.g., straight from fridge)
• Check if items are too thick or too large for the cooking method
• Review whether portions are overcrowded, preventing even heating

Cooking vs reheating

Fresh cooking

When cooking raw ingredients, the goal is to bring the core from fridge or room temperature up to 75°C. The outside of the food heats first, then heat gradually penetrates to the centre.

This is why thick cuts take longer to cook than thin cuts, and why you should not cook straight from frozen (unless the product is designed for it). Starting from fridge temperature rather than frozen reduces the cooking time needed.

Reheating

Reheated food must also reach 75°C at the core, but the context is different:

• Food has already been through the danger zone during cooling
• Bacteria may have multiplied during storage
• Some bacteria produce heat-resistant toxins

This is why reheating properly is so important. You cannot simply warm food to serving temperature; it must be heated thoroughly enough to kill any bacteria that grew during storage.

Important: Food should only be reheated once. If reheated food is not used, it must be discarded, not cooled and reheated again.

Common mistakes to avoid

Checking the wrong spot

The hottest part of the food is not the core. Checking near the surface or near a bone will give artificially high readings. Always find the thickest, coldest part.

Not waiting for the reading to stabilise

Probe thermometers take a few seconds to reach the correct temperature. Pulling the probe out too quickly gives an inaccurate reading. Wait until the display stops changing.

Relying on visual cues alone

"Juices run clear" and "no pink meat" are useful guides but are not reliable for food safety. Some properly cooked meat remains pink, and some undercooked meat appears done. Always use a thermometer.

Checking after resting

Large joints and whole birds continue cooking after removal from the heat. This "carry-over cooking" can raise the temperature by several degrees. If checking after resting, take this into account. For food safety verification, check immediately after cooking.

Touching bone with the probe

Bone conducts heat faster than meat. If your probe touches bone, the reading will be higher than the actual meat temperature. Insert the probe parallel to the bone, not perpendicular.

Assuming cooking time equals safety

Cooking time guidelines are starting points, not guarantees. Oven temperatures vary, food starting temperatures differ, and portions are not identical. The only reliable way to confirm safety is to check the actual temperature.

High-volume cooking

In busy kitchens cooking many portions of the same item, checking every single piece is impractical. Use a sampling approach:

1. Check the first item to confirm your cooking method achieves the target
2. Check periodically throughout service, especially if cooking conditions change
3. Check the last item of a batch to ensure consistent results
4. Check if anything seems different - appearance, cooking time, equipment issues

For batch cooking (e.g., large pans of stew), check multiple points throughout the container, not just one spot.

Equipment care

Probe thermometers

• Clean between uses - Sanitise after checking raw food, before checking cooked food
• Calibrate regularly - See our Food Probe Accuracy Test guide
• Store safely - Protect the probe tip from damage
• Replace when damaged - A bent or corroded probe gives unreliable readings

Instant-read vs leave-in probes

Instant-read probes are inserted after cooking to check the final temperature. They give results in seconds and are ideal for checking individual portions.

Leave-in probes remain in the food during cooking, often connected to an alarm that sounds when target temperature is reached. These are useful for large joints but still require a final verification check.

Summary

Cooked food temperature checks are your final verification that food is safe to serve. Even with the best cooking methods and careful timing, only a thermometer can confirm that harmful bacteria have been destroyed.

Remember:

• Target 75°C at the thickest part
• Check the core, not the surface
• Use a calibrated probe thermometer
• Record every check
• Never serve undercooked high-risk food