The product put into a cold room sets its temperature, not the room. The Regulation on Specific Hygiene Rules for Food of Animal Origin writes the upper limits product by product:
| Product | Upper limit | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Red meat, storage and transport | 7 °C (offal 3 °C) | 17 |
| Poultry and rabbit meat, transport | 4 °C | 22 |
| Minced meat (core temperature) | 2 °C | 31 |
| Meat preparations | 4 °C | 31 |
| Raw milk, at receipt at the plant | 6 °C | 57 |
| Chilled egg products | 4 °C | 64 |
| Frozen fishery products | -18 °C | 51 |
Egg products also have a limit of -18 °C for deep-frozen and -12 °C for frozen (Article 64). For products not on the list, fresh vegetables and fruit for example, the target is the storage condition on the product's label.
When products with different limits share a room, the room runs to the tightest class: if mince and poultry wait together, the target is set for the mince at 2 °C. Where there is no common range, frozen fish and red meat for example cannot share a room, and a partition or a separate room is needed.
The value on the panel is the reading of the room sensor, while the limit applies to the product itself. Map the loaded room, find the warmest point, measure the product core temperature there and write the gap between setpoint and product on the form; keep the setpoint below the limit by that gap.