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SAFE FOOD FACT SHEET BUTTE-SILVER BOW HEALTH DEPARTMENT 25 West Front Street Butte, Montana 59701 Office Number: (406) 497-5020 Fax Number: (406) 497-5096 HOT and COLD Holding Whenever dealing with questionable hot-holding and cold-holding practices, always resolve the issue in favor of food safety. It is better to discard potentially hazardous foods than to risk your customer's health and safety. One way to avoid discarding too much food is to prepare and cook only as much as you will use in a short time. Hot-Holding Guidelines When holding hot foods for service, observe the following: • Stir the food at regular intervals to distribute heat evenly throughout the food • Keep food covered to retain heat and to protect from contamination • Use a food thermometer to measure food's internal temperature every 2 hours • Discard any hot food after 4 hours if it has not been maintained at 135°F or higher • Never use hot-holding equipment to reheat foods. Foods must be reheated to an internal temperature of 165°F and then transferred to hot-holding equipment • Never mix freshly prepared food with foods being held for service as this could contaminate foods Cold-Holding Guidelines When holding cold foods for service, observe the following: • Protect all foods from possible contamination by covering them or using food shields • Use a food thermometer to measure the food's internal temperature every 2 hours • Take corrective action whenever the temperature of a cold food item goes above 41°F • Never store food items directly on ice. All food items, with certain exceptions, should be placed in pans or on plates when displayed • Ice used for display should be self- draining, and all pans and plates should be sanitized after each use