Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations 1990

Regulation 4(d)

SCHEDULE 2 NEW REGULATION 27 OF THE 1970 REGULATIONS

Temperature at which certain foods are to be kept

27.—(1) The food to which this regulation applies (“relevant food”) is food intended for human consumption which is not excluded by paragraph (2) of this regulation but is of any of the following descriptions—

(a) soft cheeses (whether whole or cut) which have been ripened by the action of moulds or other micro-organisms;

(b) cooked products (whether prepared ready for consumption or intended to be subjected to reheating or further cooking prior to consumption) containing—

(i) meat,

(ii) fish,

(iii) eggs,

(iv) substances used as a substitute for meat, fish or eggs,

(v) cheese,

(vi) cereals,

(vii) pulses, or

(viii) vegetables,

whether or not the food also includes other raw or partially cooked ingredients;

(c) smoked or cured fish;

(d) smoked or cured meat which has been cut or sliced after smoking or curing;

(e) desserts, an ingredient of which is milk or anything used as a substitute for milk and which have a pH value of 4.5 or more;

(f) prepared vegetable salads, including those containing fruit;

(g) cooked pies and pasties containing meat, fish, any substitute for meat or fish, or vegetables, encased in pastry except (in each case) those into which nothing has been introduced after cooking and which are intended to be consumed on the day of preparation or the day following that day;

(h) cooked sausage rolls except those which are intended to be consumed on the day of preparation or the day following that day;

(i) uncooked or partly cooked pastry and dough products containing meat, fish or any substance used as a substitute for meat or fish;

(j) sandwiches, filled rolls and similar bread products containing—

(i) meat,

(ii) fish,

(iii) eggs,

(iv) substances used as a substitute for meat, fish or eggs,

(v) soft cheeses to which this regulation applies,

(vi) vegetables or

(k) cream cakes.

(2) This regulation does not apply to food of any of the following descriptions—

(a) bread, biscuits, cakes or pastry which are of a description specified in paragraph (1) of this regulation by reason only of the use of egg or milk as an ingredient introduced into the products before they are baked;

(b) ice-cream to which the Ice-Cream (Heat Treatment etc) Regulations 1959(1) apply;

(c) food which has been subjected to dehydration or other process the purpose of which is to prevent the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms at ambient temperatures;

(d) food contained in hermetically sealed containers and which has been preserved by a process of heating, the purpose of which is to prevent the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms at ambient temperatures;

(e) uncooked bacon, uncooked ham, dry pasta, dry pudding mixes or dry mixes for the preparation of beverages;

(f) chocolate or sugar confectionery; or

(g) milk which is not combined with other ingredients.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) of this regulation, the provisions of this regulation shall not apply to relevant food—

(a) in any food room and which is intended to be sold within 2 hours of the conclusion of its preparation and at a temperature of 63°C or above,

(b) in any food room and which is intended to be sold within 4 hours of the conclusion of its preparation and at a temperature below 63°C; or

(c) which is displayed on catering premises for a period not exceeding four hours, where such display is for the purpose of either—

(i) indicating to prospective purchasers the nature of food which is for sale for consumption on those premises, or

(ii) service to a purchaser for consumption on those premises,

provided that, in either case no more food is displayed than is reasonably necessary for that purpose.

(4) In relation to food which is in any catering premises and intended for consumption on those premises the references in paragraph (3)(a) and (b) of this regulation to the time of intended sale shall be read as references to the time when the process of service of such food is intended to be commenced.

(5) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7) of this regulation relevent food which is in any food room—

(a) if it is not either at or below the specified temperature or at or above 63°C shall be cooled to a temperature not exceeding the specified temperature or heated to at least 63°C, as appropriate, without any avoidable delay after arrival or after any process of preparation has been completed;

(b) thereafter shall be kept at or below the specified temperature or at or above 63°C until it is sold except where—

(i) it is being heated, without any avoidable delay from the specified temperature to 63°C or is being cooled without any avoidable delay from 63°C to the specified temperature, or

(ii) having previously been cooled to a temperature at or below the specified temperature, or heated to a temperature at or above 63°C, it is in the course of being served on catering premises.

(6) Where relevant food in any room is placed, without avoidable delay in equipment which is capable of cooling it to, and keeping it at, the specified temperature, any delay in cooling it to that temperature shall not be regarded as avoidable for the purposes of paragraph (5) of this regulation merely because other equipment not in the food room could have cooled the food more quickly.

(7) The specified temperature may be exceeded for a period of not more than two hours by up to 2°C where the variation is due to—

(a) a process of preparation;

(b) defrosting of equipment;

(c) temporary breakdown of equipment;

(d) movement of the food from one part of the premises to another; or

(e) some other unavoidable reason.

(8) In this regulation “the specified temperature” means—

(a) before 1st April 1993, 8°C for all relevant food;

(b) on or after 1st April 1993—

(i) for the relevant food of the description specified in paragraph (9) of this regulation 5°C,

(ii) for all other relevant food 8°C.

(9) The relevant food referred to in paragraph (8)(b)(i) of this regulation is food of any of the following descriptions:—

(a) cheeses which have been cut or otherwise separated from the whole cheese from which they were removed;

(b) relevant food which is of the description specified in paragraph (1)(b) of this regulation and which has been prepared for consumption without the necessity for further cooking or reheating;

(c) smoked or cured fish;

(d) smoked or cured meat which has been sliced or cut after smoking or curing; or

(e) sandwiches, filled rolls and similar bread products containing any of the foods mentioned in this paragraph, unless they are intended to be sold within twenty-four hours of their preparation.

(1)

S.I. 1959/734.