What Temperature Must Hot Food Be Kept At in Scotland?

Hot food must be kept at or above 63°C in Scotland

Yes — 63°C is a statutory requirement in Scotland, not a guidance benchmark. This is one of the clearer areas of temperature control law: Schedule 4 of the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 directly prescribes this threshold for food that has been cooked and is being held hot for service.

This distinguishes hot holding from general cooking duties, which are framed in outcome-based terms without a universally prescribed figure. The 63°C hot holding requirement is different in kind — it is written into domestic regulation with explicit legal force.

Where the position may differ

Schedule 4 also provides for exemptions applicable in defined circumstances. Those exemptions are part of the statutory structure and do not remove the 63°C requirement as a whole. The wider legal position, including how the exemptions operate, is examined in the Temperature Control publication.

Assessment in context

The existence of a statutory number does not mean assessment reduces to a single reading. Enforcement discussion of hot holding may consider evidence of active monitoring, the nature of the food, and the wider picture of control. The statutory threshold provides clarity, but inspection still involves contextual judgement. The broader temperature control framework in Scotland is brought together in the temperature control hub. The legal structure of temperature control in Scotland, including how the hot holding threshold sits within the wider framework of statutory and outcome-based duties, is examined in the Temperature Control publication.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions