Navigating the Intricacies of Temperature Management
I spend a bit of time in these blogs discussing various nuances of food safety – but one that we haven’t spent much time discussing is basic temperature management. I think we all, at least I certainly do, take this knowledge for granted after having been exposed to it for so long. Can you imagine a new hire coming to work in a commercial kitchen for the first time and how confusing all the temperatures we use on a daily basis must be for them?
Temperature management is not just a matter of achieving the perfect doneness in a steak or ensuring a refreshing chill in your salad. It really is a critical factor in safeguarding the health and well-being of anyone who partakes in the creations of a foodservice operation.
At the heart of temperature management is the division between hot and cold, each playing a crucial role in preventing the proliferation of harmful microorganism. The 2022 Model Food Code sets forth specific temperature ranges that food items must be stored, cooked, and held within to minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses. I am basing the rest of my discussion within this blog on that standard. As always, it is important that you check the standards within your local jurisdiction as they could be slightly different than what the food code has recommended.
Navigating the intricacies of proper temperature control means not only understanding the recommended temperature guidelines, but also implementing best practices in a dynamic and often hectic kitchen environment.
Hot Holding: The magic number here is 135°F (57°C) or higher. Foods like soups, stews, and cooked meats should be maintained at this temperature or above to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli.
Cold Storage: On the flip side, the chill zone is equally significant. Cold storage, below 41°F (5°C), is vital for perishable foods like dairy, raw meats, and ready-to-eat items. Maintaining these items at the right temperature ensures the slowdown of bacterial growth.
The zone in between the cold and hot zone, or between 41°F (5°C) and 135°F (57°C) is what we have called the temperature danger zone for years. This zone is the sweet spot for microorganisms to multiple, the temperature at which food should spend as little time as possible.
Cooking Temperatures: When it comes to cooking, temperatures are not just about achieving the ideal taste and texture; they are about ensuring that the food is safe to eat. Poultry, ground meats, and fish have specific temperature thresholds that must be reached to eliminate harmful bacteria. For instance, raw eggs prepared for immediate service should reach 145°F (63°C) poultry should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), while ground meats and fish should hit 160°F (71°C).
Implementing these temperature management practices in a fast-paced kitchen is no small feat. Chefs and kitchen staff must be adept at multitasking, ensuring that food moves seamlessly through temperature transitions from storage to preparation to cooking and, ultimately, to serving.
The challenges with temperature control are now confounded more than ever with the demand for food delivery and the proliferation of delivery services such as Uber Eats and Grub Hub. Maintaining the correct temperatures during transportation presents an additional hurdle that requires careful consideration and innovation.
Navigating the intricacies of proper temperature control means not only understanding the recommended temperature guidelines, but also implementing best practices in a dynamic and often hectic kitchen environment. From the storage of ingredients to the final presentation on the plate, each step can have a different temperature requirement which must be met to ensure the food served is not only delicious but, more importantly, safe for every guest. Risk Nothing.
Foodborne Illness Myths & Facts
“It must have been something I ate.” That’s the typical statement when a person develops some relatively minor symptoms from food. Maybe not severe enough to go to the doctor so you choose to tough it out without medical care. Sudden onset of flu-like symptoms such as onset of stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fever could possibly mean you are the victim of a foodborne illness. The illness is sometimes referred to as “food poisoning”, but it’s often misdiagnosed.
Don’t Compromise: Clean and Sanitize
The subject is cleaning and sanitizing. Chefs, food service directors, managers and staff try to practice safe food-handling at every turn in the kitchen. Don’t let that effort go down the drain by slacking off on the many aspects of sanitation. That includes dish and ware-washing techniques (pots, pans, equipment), and cleaning all the areas that give us that “neat as a pin” appearance in your customers eyes. Customers seldom fail to bring that soiled silverware or glass with lipstick on it to the attention of the manager or wait staff. Improperly cleaning and sanitizing of food contact equipment does allow transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to food and ultimately our customer.
The Route to Safer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Although fruits and vegetables are one of the healthiest foods sources in our diet, we continue to have foodborne disease outbreaks of significance from produce, sometimes affecting large groups of people in multiple states because of their wide distribution. The CDC estimates that fresh produce now causes a huge number of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. Produce needs our continued food safety efforts at the restaurant level as well as at the stages in agricultural production. Occasionally, fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated with harmful bacteria or viruses, such as Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Norovirus, and Hepatitis A. This contamination can occur at any point from the field to our table. If eaten, contaminated fruits and vegetables can cause foodborne illness.
Be Cool, Chill Out, Refrigerate Promptly!
The Cold Chain -- Keeping perishable foods at proper cold holding temperatures (between 28°F and 41°F maximum or 0°F for frozen food) from your food producers / manufacturers to your customers has to be one of our strongest links to safe food and high quality. Sometimes that is referred to in the food industry as “maintaining the COLD CHAIN”. Any slip ups in the cold chain, and we have a weak link. Most all of our state food regulations require 41°F as a cold maximum, but colder is a “best practice” policy to maintain.
