Food Protection Trends - January/February 2013 - (Page 27)

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE Food Protection Trends, Vol 33, No. 1, p. 27-31 Copyright©2013, International Association for Food Protection 6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864 Cooling of Foods in Retail Foodservice Operations KEVIN R. ROBERTS,1* DAVID A. OLDS,2 CAROL SHANKLIN,3 KEVIN SAUER1 and JEANNIE SNEED1 1 The Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs, Dept. of Hospitality Management and Dietetics, Kansas State University, 104 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences, Bradley University, 18 Bradley Hall, Peoria, IL 61625, USA Graduate School & The Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs, Dept. of Hospitality Management and Dietetics, Kansas State University, 104 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA 2 3 SuMMaRY The Food and Drug Administration’s Model Food Code requires that food be cooled from 57.2°C to 21.1°C (135°F to 70°F) within two hours and from 57.2°C to 5°C (135°F to 41°F) within a total of six hours. The FDA defines cooling as a critical control point essential to preventing foodborne illness outbreaks. The purpose of this research was to determine if common cooling practices used in retail foodservice operations, such as those in schools, would meet the FDA Model Food Code standards. Two food products were tested, chili con carne with beans and tomato sauce (meatless). Products were cooled at 5.1 cm (2-inch) and 7.6 cm (3-inch) depths in stainless steel counter pans placed uncovered in a walk-in refrigerator, a walk-in freezer, and a walk-in refrigerator with an ice bath. An additional treatment utilizing three gallons of product was cooled in a stockpot placed in a walk-in refrigerator with the use of a chill stick. Cooling the product in a walk-in freezer, with a depth of 5.1 cm (2-inches), was the only method that met both FDA Model Food Code time and temperature standards. Cooling in a walk-in refrigerator with a chill stick required the longest cooling time. INTRODuCTION Improper cooling or “slow cooling,” of food has been identified as a food safety problem in retail food service operations for many years (1, 3, 10). Bryan (1) reported that improper cooling was the number one factor in 1,918 outbreaks of C. perfringens illnesses in the United States between 1961 and 1982. More recently, Pogostin et al. (10) identified “slow cooling” as the third leading contributing factor to school-associated foodborne outbreaks, contributing to 16 outbreaks between 1998 and 2006. *Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 785.532.2399; Fax: +1 785.532.5522; E-mail: kevrob@ksu.edu JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2013 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 27 http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/JanFeb-13-Sneed.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - January/February 2013

Food Protection Trends - January/February 2013
Contents
Food for Thought & Commentary
Secretary Election 2013
“Counter Top” Training Program
“...Listeria on Deli Slicers...”
Cooling of Foods in Retail Foodservice
Food Safety Knowledge, Beliefs and Behavior of Persons With Aids: A Multicenter Study
Beyond the Bio
Special Interest Paper
Legal Brief
PDG Highlight
Industry Products
Coming Events

Food Protection Trends - January/February 2013