Write down what went wrong and what you did about it in your diary.

Safe method:Prove itSometimes you might want to use a probeto prove that your methods are safe.Safe methodCooking and reheatingHot holdingChilling down hot foodChilled storage anddisplaying chilled foodWhat to doThe ‘Cooking safely’ and ‘Reheating’ safemethods in the Cooking section tell youhow to check that food is thoroughlycooked/reheated. If you do a differentcheck then you will need to prove that itis safe.You only need to do this once.The food is safe if it has reached ahigh enough temperature for a longenough time.The ‘Hot holding’ safe method in theCooking section tells you how to hot holdsafely. It is a legal requirement that hotfood must be kept above 63°C.The ‘Chilling down hot food’ safe methodin the Chilling section tells you how tochill down hot food safely and the ‘Chilledstorage and displaying chilled food’ safemethod tells you how to keep food cold.It is a legal requirement in England, Walesand Northern Ireland that certain chilledfoods must be kept at 8°C or below.In Scotland, the regulations do not set aspecific temperature for cold foods, butfoods that need to be chilled should bekept in the fridge or other chillingequipment.Sometimes there might be more than oneway of chilling down hot food that issuitable for what you are doing. Then youmight want to compare different optionsto find out which is most effective.Compare different chilling options bytrying them out with the same food.How to do itIf you want to check the temperature ofa food, use a clean probe. Insert the probeso that the tip is in the centre of the food(or the thickest part).Examples of safe time/temperaturecombinations include:• 80°C for at least 6 seconds• 75°C for at least 30 secondsTo check that food in hot holding is above63°C, use a clean probe. Insert the probeso the tip is in the centre of the food(or the thickest part).To check that food is at 8°C or below,use a clean probe. Insert the probe sothat the tip is in the centre of the food(or the thickest part).When you have just cooked the food,test its temperature with a clean probe.Start to chill it using one option andtest the temperature again at regularintervals to see how quickly itis dropping.Repeat this with other options to seewhich is fastest.You can record what you have done to prove your methods on the ‘Prove it: records’ sheet in the diary.