Reheating food safely

Food handling

Overview

To reheat food safely you need to:

reheat food in the oven or microwave until it reaches 75 °C or hotter in the centre
reheat and display food only once and throw it out if not eaten or sold - this will avoid the food being at temperatures that support the growth of harmful bacteria
if reheated food is displayed it must be kept at 60 °C or hotter.

Pie warmers and bain-maries

Pie warmers and bain-maries are used to hold hot food for display.

It is important to:

preheat the pie warmer or bain-marie before use
ensure the temperature of the hot-holding equipment is set at 60 °C or hotter to maintain temperature control
heat or reheat the food quickly to a temperature of at least 60 °C before being transferred to the hot-holding equipment
dispose of any reheated food left over at the end of the day.

It is unsafe to use the pie warmer or bain-marie to reheat the food as it takes too long and harmful bacteria will grow quickly.

Answer this practice question...

Reheating food correctly is important because it A ensures the food looks good B prevents bacteria from growing to unsafe levels C prevents food spoilage D ensures it tastes right

5 of 6 subject areas

Back Next