How to share hot foods
Some bacteria can survive normal cooking temperatures and if given time and kept warm they may produce poisons in the food.
What are high risk hot foods?
These foods are typically collected hot from take-aways, restaurants and street food vendors and will include: curries, stews, soups, joints and portions of cooked meat, burgers, kebabs, cooked hot sausages, hot rice, gravies, hot sauces such as BBQ and chilli sauces, hot chicken and chicken products such as nuggets.
What are the rules for collecting high risk hot foods
1. Only collect from OLIO approved food businesses.
2. Ask the food business to confirm that the food is 63°C or hotter at the time of collection. (If in doubt request the business to probe the food to prove it is hot). If the food is below 63°C, do not collect it.
3. Decide if the food is to be kept hot for supply hot to other OLIOers or cooled down for supply cold to other OLIOers.
4. If hot food is collected, you have the following options:
- share the food while still hot within 1.5 hours of the collection, OR
- chill the food in your fridge within 1.5 hours of the collection and share within 24 hours of the collection
5. If the food is to be cooled, collect from the donor food business in portion sized containers (such as take-away containers), preferably provided by the business, to allow the food to begin to cool. If no containers are available in the business only use clean (washed in hot soapy water or dishwashed) containers. Businesses with a food hygiene rating of 3 or better.
6. Once collected the cooling food should be returned home within 1.5 hours and placed in a fridge at a maximum of 5°C. It is recommended that the fridge temperature is regularly checked to ensure that it is running at or below 5°C.
7. Any food that has been refrigerated but not used within 24 hours from collection must be thrown away.
Guidance on food types
🌡️ High risk hot food
This is collected hot from take-aways, restaurants and street food vendors and will include: curries, stews, soups, joints and portions of cooked meat, burgers, kebabs, cooked hot sausages, hot rice, gravies, hot sauces such as BBQ and chilli sauces, hot chicken and products such as nuggets.
🌡️Other hot foods:
Again, collected from take-aways etc this might include hot breads (not including breads stuffed with meat), pizza slices, individual sausage rolls and pies, beverages such as tea, coffee etc.
🌡️High risk food (not collected hot):
This may be collected from any food business including supermarkets, delis, butchers etc and are “ready to eat” without further cooking, and usually require refrigeration. Such products include: ready to eat cooked meats, quiches, pate, sushi and sashimi, sandwich fillings, chilled pies and pasties, cheese, dairy products such as cream and yoghurts, coleslaws and prepared salads, dips, scotch eggs, filled sandwiches and rolls, cream cakes, prepared fruit and vegetables (ready to eat cut, sliced and or prepared portions), refrigerated “ready meals” including chilled soups, fresh juices, frozen foods.
🌡️ Low risk food:
This may be collected from any food business and includes prepacked shelf stable goods such as tinned and jarred food, packet foods like cereals, bread and bakery goods (except cream cakes), chocolate and confectionary, fruit and vegetables (except pre-prepared), biscuits, canned and bottled drinks, pre-packed raw meat and raw fish. “Ready to eat” means that the food is normally consumed without any further thorough cooking. The foods may be warmed by the consumer but this may not be sufficient to kill any dangerous bacteria hence the need to keep such foods cold.