A lot of our enterprise that revolves round meals security is ruled by temperatures. The endpoint cooking temperature of floor beef, the new holding temperature on the road, the temperature of our fridges, or what the important thing temperatures are for cooling – the temperatures that many people can recite in our sleep. However there are occasions when temperature management is simply merely not doable.  I keep in mind a number of cases in my foodservice life the place we didn’t have the posh of getting refrigeration, or the place we have been catering an outside occasion, and regardless of how “windproof” our sternos and chaffing dishes have been meant to be, the brisk Iowa wind would blow out the flame.  That is the place the meals code part on time as a public well being management comes into play.

Final week, I used to be serving to with the event of a meals security examination, and I used to be reminded of simply how complicated and misunderstood this part of the meals code could possibly be – for workers, managers, and seasoned professionals, alike. The code spells out this data in Part 3-501.19.

Everyone knows that sizzling meals have to be stored at a temperature higher than 135˚F and chilly meals lower than 41˚F, however at instances if you end up not capable of preserve these temperatures, the code means that you can use time to maintain meals protected. To make use of this provision of the code, you do need to have a written process that you’ve got ready upfront, which might be made out there to the inspector in the event that they inquire about your procedures.

WE ALL KNOW THAT HOT FOOD MUST BE KEPT AT A TEMPERATURE GREATER THAN 135˚F OR LESS THAN 41˚F, BUT WHEN YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO MAINTAIN THOSE TEMPERATURES, THE CODE ALLOWS YOU TO USE TIME AS A MEASURE TO KEEP FOOD SAFE.

The subsequent requirement is to be sure you have held the meals correctly on the right temperature earlier than you take away it from temperature management.  Within the case of sizzling meals, it ought to be held at a temperature higher than 135˚F and chilly meals ought to have been stored at a temperature lower than 41˚F.

Then, as soon as it’s faraway from temperature management (for instance, positioned on a buffet line), report the time of when it was faraway from temperature management and when it have to be discarded. As soon as the four-hour mark has been reached, the meals will need to have been served or discarded. It can’t be reheated to temperature and saved, or served once more, it have to be discarded.

There may be, nevertheless, additionally a provision within the code that means that you can maintain meals for as much as a most of six hours.  That is solely permissible for chilly meals (that’s, meals faraway from temperature management at 41˚F or much less). Once more, the meals shall be marked with the time at which it was faraway from temperature management and the time at which the six-hour level can be met, at which level the meals have to be both served, cooked and served, or discarded. Nonetheless, the meals at no level shall exceed 70˚F throughout this six-hour interval.  As soon as the meals exceeds the 70˚F level, it have to be discarded.

Now for the same old disclaimer that I add at any time I talk about the meals code. It’s important that your native meals code and if the time as a public well being management is allowed for in your particular jurisdiction and if there are any particular nuances that differs from the Mannequin Meals Code, which is what I base all of my blogs off, at the moment the 2022 code.  Every jurisdiction has the flexibility to undertake any a part of the mannequin code or amend it to suit their requirements, so when it doubt, name your inspector.  Danger Nothing.