Use of thermometers

All food businesses that store, transport, prepare, cook or sell potentially hazardous food must have a thermometer to measure the temperature of potentially hazardous food.

Potentially hazardous foods include:

• 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.

Type of thermometer required

Food businesses must have a thermometer that:

• has a probe that can be inserted into food
• is accurate to +/- 1 degree Celsius.

You can buy thermometers from companies that sell electronic testing equipment or catering equipment.

Most probe thermometers can be bought for about $20 to $50.

How to measure the temperature of food

You can measure the temperature of food accurately by:

• making sure the thermometer is clean and dry
• waiting until the temperature reading has stabilised before reading the temperature
• measuring different parts of a food as the temperature may not be the same everywhere
• cleaning and sanitising the thermometer after each use
• waiting for the thermometer to return to room temperature between measurements
• measuring the temperature of different foods in a refrigerator or display unit as there will be colder and hotter spots within the refrigerator or unit
• measuring the approximate temperature of packaged chilled food by placing the length of the thermometer between 2 packages.

Cleaning and sanitising a thermometer

You should clean and sanitise the probe of a thermometer before each use by:

• washing the probe with warm water and detergent
• sanitising the probe in an appropriate way (alcohol swabs are often used)
• rinsing the sanitiser away if necessary
• allowing the probe to air dry or thoroughly drying it with a disposable towel.

Remember you can't tell the temperature of food by looking at it. You must use a thermometer.

More information

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