SAFE FOOD HANDLING-Food Safety Fact Sheet #9
“Cooling Cooked Foods Safely”
Background Information
Improper cooling of potentially hazardous foods is
a major cause of foodborne illness. Disease
causing bacteria grow best in the “temperature
danger zone” of 41ºF.-135ºF. When potentially
hazardous foods are improperly cooled, it provides
an ideal environment for bacteria to multiply.
Potentially hazardous foods must be cooled from
135ºF. (or final cooked temperature) to 70ºF.
within 2 hours. An additional 4 hours is allowed to
completely cool the product to 41ºF. The faster
foods pass through the “temperature danger zone”
as they are cooled, the better.
Cool cooked food using one of these methods:
•
Split large amounts of food into smaller
portions or place in shallow containers.
•
Stainless steel containers chill food faster
than glass or plastic containers.
•
Never allow food to set on the countertop (room
temperature) to cool.
Place food containers in larger pans of ice
or in an ice bath within a food prep sink, stir
the food as it cools, then place the food in
shallow pans in the refrigerator. Solid food
should be placed in 4 inch pans no deeper
than 2 inches and liquid foods should be no
deeper than 3 inches.
•
Use ice paddles/wands to stir food.
Cool cooked food from:
•
Substitute ice as an ingredient after
cooking, if the food calls for water as an
ingredient.
•
Place the food in a quick chill unit (blast
chiller), tumbler chiller, or cold-jacketed
kettle to cool.
•
Cover food loosely until it is cooled,
allowing for air circulation, then cover
tightly before refrigerating it.
Key Concepts
•
•
135ºF. (or final cooked temperature) to
70ºF. within 2 hours (if food has not
reached 70°F., reheat food to 165° and
restart cooling process or discard food)
70ºF. to 41ºF. within another 4 hours (If
the proper temperature range is not
reached within these 4 hours the food
must be discarded.)
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
1
•
•
Record cooling times regularly using a
sanitized food thermometer (every hour is
best) for each food cooled.
Once cooled, label the food with the date
and time it was prepared or with a use-by
date, then hold cold food in cold-holding
equipment that maintains the food at 41ºF.
or below. If the food is not used within 7
days, discard it.
ACTIVITY 1
Read the story below and decide whether the
beef stew is safe to serve. Explain why or why
not.
At 8:00 AM, Dave placed a stockpot of beef
stew that had been held at 135ºF. into an icewater bath to cool. At 10:00 AM, he checked
the temperature and found that it was 90ºF.
Dave continued to cool the stew in the icewater bath. At 11:00 AM, when the stew had
reached 70ºF, he poured it into shallow pans
and placed it on the top shelf in the walk-in
cooler.
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
ACTIVITY 2
Complete the blanks in the statements below.
Food must be cooled from 135ºF. (or final
cooked temperature) to _____ºF. within 2
hours.
Food must continue to be cooled from the
above temperature to _____ºF. within an
additional 4 hours.
Use ____________________ filled with ice
cubes or frozen water to stir food to cool it
quickly.
Cover shallow pans ________________, to
maintain good air circulation.
Glass and plastic containers do not distribute
heat as quickly as _____________ containers.
As food is cooling, check the cooling
temperature every ______________.
When storing cooled foods, be sure to first
_________ them with the preparation date and
time or the use-by date.
Rapid cooling equipment, such as __________
___________ may also be used to cool food
quickly.
If food calls for water as an ingredient, _____
may be added after cooking as a substitute.
Once food is cooled correctly, store it in proper
cold-holding equipment at ______ºF. or below.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
2
ANSWER KEY
Activity 1-Beef Stew Cooling Explanation
The beef stew was not at the correct temperature by 10:00 AM. The stew should have been cooled to
70ºF. within 2 hours. When Dave discovered that the stew had only cooled to 90ºF., he should have either
reheated it to 165ºF. for fifteen seconds or discarded the food. If Dave was able to reheat the stew to the
proper temperature, he then could have recooled it by dividing the stew into smaller containers and
placing them in an ice-water bath and/or stirred the stew with ice paddles/wands.
Activity 2-Answers to complete each statement given in chronological order.
70ºF., 41ºF., ice paddles/wands, loosely, stainless steel, hour, label, quick chill units or blast chillers,
ice, 41ºF.
REFERENCES
FDA Food Code. http://www.foodsafety.gov/~dms/foodcode.html 2005.
King County, WA, Public Health Department.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/foodsafety.aspx Seattle, Washington. 2004
Minnesota Department of Agriculture. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/business/fact
sheets/cooling.htm 2008.
National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. http://www.nraef.org/ 2008.
USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Basics_for_Handling_Food_Safely/index.asp
Wisconsin Food Code Fact Sheet. Food Safety Illustrated, Fall 2006.
Prepared by Lori Brandman, Program Coordinator, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, April, 2009
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
3