Separate preparation, reheating and hot holding in your written service procedure.
A display cabinet is part of a food-safety process, not a substitute for preparation instructions or temperature checks. Keep reheating, hot holding and serving as separate steps in the venue's procedure.
FSANZ guidance generally requires potentially hazardous food to be kept at 5°C or colder or 60°C or hotter, unless a business can demonstrate a safe alternative system. Confirm the rules and procedure that apply to your business.
Follow the product preparation directions and the business's reheating procedure. FSANZ advises that previously cooked and cooled potentially hazardous food should be reheated rapidly to 60°C or hotter; a holding cabinet should not be assumed to do this.
A cabinet setting does not prove the food itself is at the required temperature. Use the monitoring method in the venue's food-safety procedure and keep any required records.
Keep product identity and preparation times clear. Follow the venue's batch rotation and cleaning routine rather than topping up a tray in a way that hides how long food has been displayed.
If a check is outside the required limit, follow the corrective action in the business's food-safety plan. Do not rely on smell or appearance to decide that potentially hazardous food is safe.
A clear process helps staff distinguish a preparation issue from a holding issue.
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FSANZ's general temperature-control guidance says potentially hazardous food should be held at 60°C or hotter, or at 5°C or colder. A business using another system must be able to demonstrate it is safe.
Do not assume it can. Follow the product directions and the venue's reheating procedure; holding equipment is not automatically a suitable reheating method.