Hazardous foods, cooling and reheating

All food businesses in the Northern Territory must meet requirements and standards for keeping food at safe temperatures.

Potentially hazardous foods

Potentially hazardous foods are foods that might contain food poisoning bacteria if not stored at correct temperatures.

These include all of the following foods:

• foods containing raw and cooked meats including casseroles, pies and sandwiches
• dairy products and processed foods containing eggs, beans and nuts
• seafood
• processed fruits and salads such as prepared salads and ready to eat fruit packs
• cooked rice and pasta.

Cooling food safely

To keep food safe to eat, it should be cooled from:

• 60°C to 2°C in a maximum of 2 hours or
• 21 °C to 5°C in a maximum of 4 hours.

Reheating potentially hazardous food

Potentially hazardous food must be reheated rapidly to at least 60°C within 2 hours.

Cooling potentially hazardous food

Potentially hazardous food that has been cooked should be cooled to 5°C or cooler as quickly as possible.

More information

For more information, contact Environmental Health. For their contact details, go to the NT Health website.