Cooling Cooked Food WHY DOES COOKED FOOD NEED TO BE COOLED QUICKLY? Some bacteria can form a protective shell called a spore so that it can survive the cooking process. When the food is between 5°C and 60°C for too long after cooking, the bacteria can come out of the spore. During this process a poison, also known as a toxin is produced. Reheating the food does not breakdown the toxin and the toxin causes food poisoning. Cooling potentially hazardous food quickly after it is cooked prevents the bacteria coming out of the spore and toxin being produced. Cooling food quickly means that it is cooled from 60°C to in 2 hours and 21°C to 5°C in a further 4 hours, ≤21°C as required by the Food Safety Standards. HOW DO I DO THIS? The method used to cool cooked food will depend on several factors: The amount of food A small amount of food will cool quicker than a large amount. The consistency of the food ie: how runny it is Liquids cool quicker than food. The shape of the food or the container used. A flat piece of meat such as a steak will cool quicker than a roast. Food spread out in a flat tray will cool quicker than food in a tall container. To speed up the cooling process use a combination of these suggestions: divide food into smaller portions use shallow trays use containers stir food regularly place a container of food into iced water use cooling equipment such as the fridge, freezer or an wand’ (long ‘ice container of frozen that is placed in liquid food). To avoid heating your fridge, steaming hot food can be cooled in the kitchen until the temperature of the food falls to 60°C. Use your probe thermometer and the record sheet over page, to assure yourself that the cooling process you use for different types of food is quick and safe. FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact the Environmental Health Unit at the City of Mitcham on 8372 8816 July 2016
Cooling Cooked Food WHY DOES COOKED FOOD NEED TO BE COOLED QUICKLY? Some bacteria can form a protective shell called a spore so that it can survive the cooking process. When the food is between 5°C and 60°C for too long after cooking, the bacteria can come out of the spore. During this process a poison, also known as a toxin is produced. Reheating the food does not breakdown the toxin and the toxin causes food poisoning. Cooling potentially hazardous food quickly after it is cooked prevents the bacteria coming out of the spore and toxin being produced. Cooling food quickly means that it is cooled from 60°C to ≤21°C in 2 hours and 21°C to 5°C in a further 4 hours, as required by the Food Safety Standards. HOW DO I DO THIS? The method used to cool cooked food will depend on several factors: The amount of food A small amount of food will cool quicker than a large amount. The consistency of the food ie: how runny it is Liquids cool quicker than food. The shape of the food or the container used. A flat piece of meat such as a steak will cool quicker than a roast. Food spread out in a flat tray will cool quicker than food in a tall container. To speed up the cooling process use a combination of these suggestions: divide food into smaller portions use shallow trays use containers stir food regularly place a container of food into iced water use cooling equipment such as the fridge, freezer or an ‘ice wand’ (long container of frozen that is placed in liquid food). To avoid heating your fridge, steaming hot food can be cooled in the kitchen until the temperature of the food falls to 60°C. Use your probe thermometer and the record sheet over page, to assure yourself that the cooling process you use for different types of food is quick and safe. FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact the Environmental Health Unit at the City of Mitcham on 8372 8816 July 2016
Cooling%20cooked%20food%20-%20information%20and%20monitoring%20sheet%20-%2025%20July%202016.docx