PREVRA Food Cooling Poster: Safe Cooling Times and Methods to Prevent Bacterial Growth
A visual guide to cooling food safely through the danger zone. Covers legal cooling time requirements, approved methods and monitoring for SFBB and HACCP compliance.
Why cooling is the most frequently failed temperature control
Cooling hot food safely is harder than most kitchen teams realise. UK guidance requires food to be cooled from cooking temperature to below 8°C within 90 minutes in Scotland, and within 2.5 hours in England and Wales. A large pot of curry or stock left to cool at room temperature can still be above 30°C after four hours — meaning it has been in the danger zone for far too long.
The physics of cooling explain why this is so challenging: heat transfer slows as the temperature difference between food and surroundings narrows. The last few degrees — from 20°C to 8°C — take disproportionately long. This is why portioning food into shallow containers, using ice paddles, or blast chilling are not optional extras but essential control measures for any kitchen producing large batches of hot food that must be chilled for later use.
Practical cooling methods that work in a real kitchen, not just in theory
Print and display near your prep and chilling areas. The poster covers all approved cooling methods: blast chiller (fastest and safest), ice water bath with stirring, portioning into shallow gastronorm trays, and using cooling paddles. Train staff to start the clock from the moment food drops below cooking temperature and log the cooling curve with temperature checks at intervals.
This is where digital SFBB transforms a manual headache into an automated process. Staff record cooling temperatures at set checkpoints from any device. The system verifies that cooling rates meet legal requirements and alerts if food is still in the danger zone after the time limit. Your EHO sees a complete time-temperature graph, not just a tick in a box. See also our Danger Zone for Food Poster and Fridge Temperature Chart.
Prevra · Early access
Prevra is building a digital SFBB app.
The app is not ready yet. See the planned features and contact us about early access.
See planned features