Helpful Tips – Food Control Plan v5
Cooling Food for Re-Use
24 June 2014
Slow Cooling Can Make Food Poisonous!
If readily perishable food is cooled too slowly at room temperature it allows any surviving bacterial spores (e.g.
Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens) or contaminating bacteria (e.g. Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter)
in the food to grow and multiply.
In warm conditions Clostridium perfringens can double in number every 7 minutes and produce a toxin (poison) that
is heat stable so may not be removed when the food is reheated for service.
Bacteria may be present in the food if:
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it wasn't cooked properly in the first place
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if heat-resistant bacterial spores have survived the cooking process and have begun to grow.
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if the food has become contaminated after it was cooked e.g. from the use of the same utensils to handle
raw meat as cooked meat, lack of hand washing or by pests.
If cooked food is not for immediate consumption it should be cooled as quickly as possible after the final cooking or
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preparation stage to a satisfactory chill temperature, usually 5 C or below
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The Food Control Plan requires that hot food is cooled through the 'danger zone' (60 C to 5 C) in less than 4 hours.
However, faster chilling i.e. cooling food within 1.5 hours, is strongly recommended if the chilled food is to be kept for
several days.
You can help to speed up the cooling process by:
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cooking food in smaller quantities
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dividing up cooked food into smaller portions
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placing food to be cooled in wide, shallow containers as this cools the food faster
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placing the cooking pan into a sink of cold water containing ice and regularly changing the water until the
food is cooled
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frequent stirring (if the food is semi-liquid)
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using fans to blow air across the covered food
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placing covered food in a cool area of the kitchen or store room
When cooling hot food prior to refrigeration it should be placed in a clean area and covered with a lid or tinfoil to
prevent it from becoming contaminated. The use of a mesh type 'umbrella' is recommended, as it will allow air to
circulate around the food whilst still protecting it from contamination.
You should never put food that is still very warm in the refrigerator or freezer, as this will raise the temperature inside
and put the other foods at risk; it will also cause condensation to form on food packaging and the inside of the
refrigerator which may drip onto the other stored foods. Food should therefore be promptly cooled (either at room
temperature or using accelerated cooling methods) until it can be placed in a refrigerator.
Temperature Checking and Validating/Recording
You can check how long it takes to cool a particular food by using a probe thermometer. The probe must first be
disinfected using a food-safe disinfectant that will not taint food. It should then be inserted into the centre of the food
and the reading taken. This process can be repeated a number of times during the cooling process until the target
temperature is achieved.
To save time having to monitor the cooling process each time you can validate the procedure for each type of readily
perishable food that you cool (Refer to your FCP Diary). This then means that if you cool the same type and quantity
of food, using the same method or methods of cooling, for the same length of time and you know from monitoring
that these steps will allow the food to reach the required temperature. This procedure can be recorded and followed
in the future.
To see if the procedure is still working check a different dish each week by monitoring the temperature with a probe
thermometer. If you change any step in the procedure, for example the quantity of food cooled or the method of
cooling, then you will also need to re-check the cooling process to ensure that it still works adequately.
Cooling Large Joints of Meat and Hams
If you cook large joints of meat or hams as part of your business, it will take longer for these to cool, even using
some of the methods described above.
A roast is best served immediately after cooking and resting.
Scientific research has shown that in these cases it is important to cool food down through the critical, higher
temperatures as fast as possible, as it is at these temperatures that bacteria will grow and multiply most quickly.
Whenever possible cut the joints up (ideally slice) to allow the meat to cool as quickly as possible.
MOST IMPORTANT!
The goal is to avoid risk of your customers getting ill from eating pre-cooked food that has been cooled
too slowly.
The way this is done is to ensure that all food handlers know how to cool hot food from 60c to 21c in
less than 2hrs and from 21c to 5c in less than 2hrs also.
BE 100% SAFE AND SURE YOUR FOOD IS SAFE!