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Lesson 5
Lesson 5
Objectives
Objectives
State the time and temperature rules for keeping food safe.
State the depth of containers for cooling food.
Chill
Chill
Refrigerate foods promptly and at the correct temperature to slow the growth of bacteria.
Why is this step important?
Time and temperature are very crucial points in making sure food is safe to eat. Remember the Danger Zone (41 F to 140 F)? If food is left in this temperature range for too long, the food is no longer safe to eat and may in fact be dangerous. We need to keep food out of this range as much as possible. That includes during thawing and cooling foods.
There are specific rules that need to be followed to keep foods safe to eat. These rules vary slightly between the USDA Consumer Guidelines and the FDA Food Code.
USDA Consumer Guidelines
USDA Consumer Guidelines
Let’s talk about the USDA consumer guidelines first, since these are the rules we need to follow in our homes. The USDA guidelines state that food could be in the Danger Zone a maximum of two hours, including preparation time. The best thing to do is to place the food in the refrigerator as soon as you are done eating.
FDA Food Code
FDA Food Code
The FDA Food Code that many restaurants use states that foods need to go from 140 ºF to 41 ºF within six hours of placement in a cooler/refrigerator.
FDA Food Code Rules
Cool foods from 140 °F to 70 °F in less than two (2) hours.
Cool foods from 70 °F to 41 °F in less than four (4) hours.
This gives a total of six (6) hours to get foods out of the Danger Zone.
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