Free Cooling Food Safely Poster (A4 PDF)

Why you need it

Cooked food that cools slowly spends a long time at temperatures where bacteria multiply. Some, such as Bacillus cereus in rice, survive cooking and can produce toxins that reheating will not destroy.

Safer Food, Better Business asks you to cool food as quickly as possible and to be able to show how you do it.

What it’s for

A cooling method with a 2-hour target from the end of cooking to the fridge, the target in FSA Northern Ireland’s Safe Catering guidance (the law sets no time, so cool as quickly as you can): small portions, shallow containers or a blast chiller, an ice-water bath where suitable, then cover, label, refrigerate at 5°C or below and record. Rice is chilled within 1 hour.

How to use it

1. Put it on the wall near the cooker or blast chiller, where cooked food is set down to cool.
2. Start timing when cooking finishes and note the time on your cooking and cooling log.
3. Split large batches into shallow trays rather than putting a big pan in the fridge.
4. If food has not cooled in time, follow your safe method and throw it away if you are unsure it is safe.
5. Show new staff how to set up an ice-water bath before their first batch cook.