Preparing & Holding Cold Foods Review Time-Temperature Control 1. Whether storing or serving cold foods, it is important to always keep a close eye on the food s internal temperature. Just like hot foods, cold foods that are allowed to enter the temperature danger zone become a potential breeding ground for bacteria. 2. The longer you allow your cold foods to remain in the temperature danger zone, the more likely bacteria will grow on the food and cause food-borne illnesses in your customers. 3. In order to avoid contamination, you must not serve food that has been in the danger zone for more than four hours. When cold foods have been warmer than 41 F (5 C) for four hours or more, they must be discarded. 4. Employees should remain alert and focused to make sure that they monitor times and temperatures properly. 5. Time-temperature control must be as organized and efficient as possible. Timers and thermometers should be made available to employees to help them accomplish these tasks, and record sheets should be posted at all cold storage sites for writing down time and temperature information. Cross-Contamination 1. There are many ways for cross-contamination to occur, and failing to properly store your cold foods is just another way to increase the risk for contamination. 2. If possible, assign different sets of equipment to different foods. You can use one set of containers to store raw meats or poultry and another set for produce. 3. If you use a surface to prepare raw chicken or beef for cooking, be sure to clean the surface before using it to create a salad or cut fruit. 4. When you take cold foods out of storage, never take more than you can prepare at one time. Otherwise, you may allow products to reach the temperature danger zone. Storing Cold Foods 1. It is usually a safe bet to make sure that cold foods, like dairy products and raw fish, are stored at an internal temperature of 41 F (5 C) or lower. 2. Never wash produce until it is about to be prepared and served, as mold may grow on wet produce while in storage.
3. When you do wash produce, use clean, running water that is warmer than the produce itself. 4. While washing leafy greens used in salads, such as lettuce or spinach, be sure to pull the leaves apart and wash them all thoroughly. Using Ice for Cold Storage 1. Ice is often used when storing cold foods, but it can be the cause of many food safety concerns. 2. Because ice is also used in customers drinks, there is always a chance that ice used to store food could end up being served to customers as food, which should never happen. 3. Under no circumstances can you serve customers ice that has previously been used to keep food cold. Remember to always use sanitized tongs or scoops to transfer ice from one place to another. 4. While using ice in storage, most foods should not be allowed to come into direct contact with the ice or the melting water. 5. Only raw fruits and vegetables may be immersed in ice and water. 6. Be sure to avoid combining items in the ice water bath. If just one item is contaminated with bacteria, that bacteria will be able to move through the ice water and contaminate all the other items in the bath. Preparing Cold Foods 1. The key thing to remember about preparing cold foods is that these items are not going to be cooked after they have been prepared. Therefore, you will not be able to count on the heating process to kill any bacteria that have grown on these foods. 2. For example, several different items are used in salad courses, so extra care must be taken to ensure that cross-contamination does not occur between the various ingredients. 3. Make sure that cold items like tuna or potato salad have been stored at 41 F (5 C) in separate containers from the other ingredients. 4. If your establishment plans to use leftover items like chicken or pasta, make sure they have not been kept in storage too long. Even leftover items that have been properly stored at 41 F (5 C) must be discarded after seven days.
General Holding Procedures 1. Many cold foods are prepared long before they are eaten, and these foods are often displayed in the establishment for customers to examine and purchase. 2. These display areas create yet another space for potential contamination, so employees must continue to monitor time and temperature for these foods. 3. Cold foods that are being held for future service, whether in a display case or at a food bar, should have their internal temperatures checked regularly, meaning at least every four hours. 4. If you discover that any foods are warm enough to be in the temperature danger zone, they must be discarded. 5. Even when held at the correct temperatures, all ready-to-eat, time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods must be discarded 7 days after being prepared. 6. These foods should be labeled after preparation with the date of the last day they can be served safely. Self-Service Holding 1. At self-service food bars, maintaining the temperature of cold foods is important for contamination prevention. 2. Employees should frequently monitor all cold food stations to ensure that the holding devices are operating properly and that all internal temperatures are being kept below 41 F (5 C). Removing Cold Foods from Cold Holding 1. If you find yourself in a situation where you can only display your cold foods by removing them from a temperature-controlled space, you may do so for up to six hours by following some basic rules. 2. First of all, you must confirm that the food had been stored at the required 41 F (5 C) before you take it out of cold storage. Secondly, be sure to take note of the exact time when you take the food out of cold storage and calculate the time when the food will need to be discarded. 3. If the food is removed at 12:00 P.M., for example, it should be labeled with 6:00 P.M. to let other employees know when the food should be discarded. 4. Although these cold foods will likely get warmer than 41 F (5 C) during those six hours, you must not let them get warmer than 70 F (21 C), which is the middle of the temperature danger zone and the most dangerous point for food contamination.
5. If the food does reach this range, you must discard it. Off-Site Cold Food Handling 1. Insulation is critical. If your vehicle is incapable of cooling foods, insulated containers can be used to keep foods outside of the temperature danger zone, presuming they had been stored at 41 F (5 C) or below before being removed from storage. 2. On your way to the delivery site, you will need to monitor the internal temperature of the food frequently to ensure that it has not become too warm. 3. If the food spends more than four hours in the temperature danger zone, you will have to discard it. Off-Site Cold Food Service 1. If you are also responsible for serving the cold food at the delivery site, use ice to keep the food containers chilled if possible. 2. Food-service vehicles that only serve packaged cold foods and beverages must be sure to keep their refrigeration units operating properly. 3. These mobile food-service operations and other temporary food-service operations are bound by the same rules for cold-holding as any other food establishment and must discard any products that have been potentially contaminated by poor timetemperature control. Vending 1. Everyone involved in the vending process, from the food preparer to the distributor to the vendor, is responsible for making sure that the food items in question never rise above the required temperature of 41 F (5 C). 2. All vending machine items should be labeled with an expiration date and frequently monitored. 3. When an item expires, it must be removed from the vending machine and discarded. 4. Cold beverages, like milk, must be kept in their original cartons, and fruit must be washed and covered in some form of wrapping before going into a vending machine.
Re-serving Cold Foods Safely 1. It is never okay to re-serve foods that have already made direct contact with a customer. If a customer returns any food items, even for simple reasons such as the customer not liking them, those food items must not be re-served to future customers. 2. Uneaten cold items that are served as sides, like pickles with a deli sandwich, also cannot be re-served to other customers. Even decorative plate garnishes like leafy greens or fruit rinds must be thrown out whether they have been touched or untouched. 3. Bowls containing cold condiments like salsa, dipping sauces, and butter cannot be refilled and served to other customers but must instead be be cleaned and sanitized before they can be reused for future customers. Items That Can Be Re-served 1. The only exceptions are the items you tend to see on the table as soon as you are seated at a restaurant, like packaged crackers and bottled ketchup. 2. Everything else has been opened and exposed to other customers and, therefore, must be thrown out in order to ensure food safety for future patrons.