Always read the thickest part, the core. It is the slowest to reach temperature, so if the core is safe, the whole piece is safe.
Put the probe into the thickest part of the food, not near the surface or the bone.
Clean and disinfect it before, after, and between different foods, or the probe itself spreads contamination.
Write the reading down as you take it, never later from memory, so the record is accurate.
A probe that reads wrong is worse than none, because it gives false confidence. Check it reads accurately.
A glass of iced water sits at about 0°C. Put the probe in, and a healthy probe reads close to zero.
If it reads well off zero, the probe is faulty and every reading it has given is in doubt. A quick iced-water check is how you know the number you are trusting is real. Many kitchens also check against boiling water at about 100°C.
Three probes from the same drawer, and a glass of iced water sitting at about 0°C. Tap each probe to dip it and read what it gives you.
0 of 3 checkedProbe B was used at the cook step this morning and the chicken was passed on a reading of 76.1°C. The real core was under the limit, and the food went out because the number looked right. A probe that reads wrong is worse than none, because it gives false confidence.
You can take a reading you can trust. Next is what to do when that reading is out of limit: recognising a deviation and acting on it. The quiz is where you prove what you know and earn a certificate recognised by TrustBite. One payment covers all three levels, so Levels 1 and 2 are included at no extra cost.