How do we buy, store and prepare food so it stays safe from shop to plate?
How to buy, store, prepare, cook, cool, reheat and freeze food safely, including correct storage of different foods, defrosting, the rules for reheating, and following food safety from purchase to consumption.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition on buying, storing, preparing, cooking, cooling, reheating and freezing food safely, including correct storage, defrosting and reheating rules.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to follow food through its whole journey - buying, storing, preparing, cooking, cooling, reheating and freezing - and to state the safe rule at each stage. You should give specific temperatures and times.
Buying food safely
Storing food safely
- Fridge - keep below 5 degrees C; store raw meat at the bottom in sealed containers, cover all food, and follow date labels.
- Freezer - keep at minus 18 degrees C; freeze food while fresh and label with the date.
- Dry store - keep ambient foods (flour, rice, tins) in a cool, dry, dark place, sealed against pests.
Cooking, cooling and reheating
- Cook food until the centre is above 75 degrees C.
- Cool leftovers quickly (within about 90 minutes), ideally in shallow containers, then refrigerate.
- Reheat food only once, until piping hot all the way through (above 75 degrees C), then serve at once.
Freezing and defrosting
Freeze food while it is fresh and within date, in suitable sealed packaging, labelled with the date so it is used in rotation. Defrost frozen raw meat and poultry fully in the fridge before cooking, never at room temperature, and never refreeze food that has been thawed unless it has been cooked first.
The reason these temperatures matter is the danger zone of 5 to 63 degrees C, where bacteria multiply fastest (roughly doubling every 20 minutes around body temperature). Every safe-handling rule is about either keeping food out of this zone or moving it through quickly: the fridge below 5 degrees C slows growth, cooking and reheating above 75 degrees C destroys bacteria, hot-holding above 63 degrees C keeps served food safe, and rapid cooling limits the time spent in the zone. Defrosting in the fridge matters because if a large item like a whole chicken is left out, its surface warms into the danger zone and bacteria multiply while the centre is still frozen, and the centre may then not reach a safe temperature during cooking.
Try this
Q1. State the correct temperature for a fridge. [1 mark]
- Cue. Below 5 degrees C.
Q2. Explain why leftovers should be cooled quickly before refrigerating. [2 marks]
- Cue. So the food passes quickly through the danger zone (5 to 63 degrees C), giving bacteria less time to multiply.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20196 marksExplain the safe way to cool, store and reheat a cooked chicken curry so it does not cause food poisoning. (Paper 1, Section B)Show worked answer →
Cool the curry quickly, within about 90 minutes, by dividing it into shallow containers, so it passes quickly through the danger zone (5 to 63 degrees C) and bacteria have little time to multiply.
Store it covered in the fridge below 5 degrees C and use within a day or two, or freeze it.
Reheat only once, until piping hot all the way through (the centre above 75 degrees C), then serve immediately. Never reheat more than once and never partly reheat. Top-band answers (5 to 6 marks) cover rapid cooling, correct chilled storage and thorough single reheating with temperatures.
AQA 20214 marksDescribe how raw chicken should be stored and defrosted safely, and explain why each step matters. (Paper 1, Section A)Show worked answer →
For 4 marks, give the steps with reasons.
Store raw chicken covered in a sealed container at the bottom of the fridge, below 5 degrees C, so its juices cannot drip onto ready-to-eat foods (preventing cross-contamination) and so it stays out of the danger zone. Defrost it fully in the fridge, not at room temperature, so the outside does not warm into the danger zone while the centre is still frozen.
Markers reward correct storage position and temperature, full fridge defrosting, and the reasons (avoiding cross-contamination and bacterial growth).
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (8585) specification — AQA (2016)