Subject: Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods (Time and Temperature Controls for Safe Food)

What will be done and who will do it?

New employees must:

• Review this procedure.
• Be trained by a team leader.
• Sign the training checklist.

All employees must:

• Follow production schedules and timing to allow for implementation of proper cooling procedures.
• Prepare and cool foods in small batches.
• Chill food rapidly using an appropriate cooling method:
  • Place food in shallow containers no more than 4 inches deep and uncovered on the top shelf in a walk-in or reach-in cooler.
  • Use a quick-chill unit such as a blast chiller.
  • Stir the food in a container placed in an ice water bath.
  • Add ice as an ingredient.
  • Separate food into smaller or thinner portions.
  • Pre-chill ingredients and containers used for making bulk items such as salads.
  • Chill cooked, hot food from:
    • 135° F to 70° F within 2 hours. Take corrective action immediately if food is not chilled from 135° F to 70° F within 2 hours.
    • 70° F to 41° F or below in remaining time. The total cooling process from 135° F to 41° F may not exceed 6 hours. Take corrective action immediately if food is not chilled from 135° F to 41° F within the 6 hour cooling process.
    • Chill prepared, ready-to-eat foods such as tuna salad and cut melons from 70° F to 41° F or below within 4 hours. Take corrective action immediately if ready-to-eat food is not chilled from 70° F to 41° F within 4 hours.

When using a thermometer for monitoring and recording temperatures employees must:

• Use a clean, sanitized, and calibrated probe thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the food during the cooling process (refer to SOP - Cross Contamination Prevention).
• Monitor temperatures at regular intervals throughout the cooling process by inserting a probe thermometer into the center of the food and at various locations in the food.

Who will make sure it's done and how?

• Team leaders are expected to continually model appropriate cooling practices for employees.
• Team leaders will verify that employees are cooling food properly by visually monitoring employees during the shift.

How should problems be fixed?

• Team leaders must immediately train and counsel employees who are not properly cooling cooked and ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods.
• Reheat cooked, hot food to 165° F for 15 seconds and start the cooling process again using a different cooling method when the food is:
  • Above 70° F and 2 hours or less into the cooling process; and
  • Above 41° F and 6 hours or less into the cooling process.
• Discard cooked, hot food immediately when the food is:
  • Above 70° F and more than 2 hours into the cooling process; or
  • Above 41° F and more than 6 hours into the cooling process.
• Use a different cooling method for prepared ready-to-eat foods when the food is above 41° F and less than 4 hours into the cooling process.
• Discard prepared ready-to-foods when the food is above 41° F and more than 4 hours into the cooling process.

What records will be kept?

• Completed training checklist.
• Temperature record logs.

Created(Date): 1/4/16

By: Randall Davis, Food Hub & Food Safety Coordinator

Last Revised: 6/6/16

By: Randall Davis, Food Hub & Food Safety Coordinator

Document available here - 3.4 Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods