The thing that makes SC3 different from the other records is that it is about a batch, not about a day. A tray of chilli cooked on Monday, chilled down, and reheated on Wednesday is one record with three entries on it, spanning two days.
Paper handles this badly. The Monday sheet has the cooking temperature and the Wednesday sheet has the reheat, and nothing on either page says they are the same food. The app keeps the three stages attached to the batch, so the record reads as one story.
One batch, up to three stages
- Cook. Name the batch, take a core temperature, save it. If you prove cooking by time rather than by probe, record the start and finish times instead.
- Cool. If it is not going straight out, record when cooking finished and when it went into the chiller. That difference is the number that matters.
- Reheat. Whenever that happens, even days later, recorded against the same batch rather than as a fresh entry with no history.
Not every batch has three stages. Food cooked and served straight away has one. The record does not ask you to invent the other two.
Cooking: 75°C at the core
The figure is 75°C or above at the centre of the food, or an equivalent combination of time and temperature. The usual equivalents are 70°C for two minutes, or 60°C for 45 minutes. They are equivalent in the sense that matters: the same reduction in bacteria.
Probe the thickest part, or the middle of the largest piece in the batch. One reading from the edge of a tray tells you about the edge of the tray.
Cooling: the 90-minute window
Hot food should be chilled as quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes of the end of cooking. This is the stage that goes wrong most often, and it goes wrong quietly: nobody sees a stockpot sitting out, and the food looks fine.
The app works the window out for you. You record when cooking finished and when the food went into the chiller, and anything longer than 90 minutes is flagged on the record rather than left for you to spot by subtracting two times in your head.
A flagged cool-down is not a failure to hide. It is a prompt to change something: shallower trays, splitting the batch, an ice bath, or starting the cool-down earlier in service. Record what you changed and the flag becomes evidence of a kitchen paying attention.
Reheating: 75°C, once
Reheated food needs to reach 75°C or above, the same figure as cooking. Reheat once. Food that has been cooked, cooled, reheated, cooled again and reheated a second time has been through too many chances to go wrong.
Because the app ties the reheat to the original batch, the record shows an inspector the whole chain: cooked Monday at 78°C, chilled in 55 minutes, reheated Wednesday to 76°C. That is a far stronger answer than three unconnected numbers on three different sheets.
Common questions
What is an SC3 record?
The Safer Food, Better Business record for cooking, cooling and reheating. It covers the food itself being made safe, as opposed to SC2, which covers food being kept cold.
What core temperature should food be cooked to?
75°C or above, or an equivalent combination such as 70°C for two minutes or 60°C for 45 minutes.
How quickly does hot food need to cool down?
As quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes of the end of cooking. The app compares the two times you record and flags anything longer.
Can I reheat food more than once?
No. Reheat once. Record the reheat against the batch it came from so the history is visible.
Do I have to record every single dish?
You record the batches that are cooked, cooled or reheated. Food cooked to order and served straight away is covered by your safe method and your prove-it check rather than by a line per plate.
Keep reading
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