Hello everyone...There are some valid points made. I do not wish to Contradict, Insult or start an Argument with anyone. I have been asked by Jeff and the Administration of SMF to monitor Food Safety Issues because my Training, Experience and Qualifications led to their choosing me as most qualified for the Job. I am Human. I have made and do occasionally make mistakes and based on further Research and continued Education have changed my point of view and recommendations from time to time. But, as of this date...Here is what I know to be Factual to the best of my knowledge. You are welcome to your Opinion and may or may not agree will all or part of this information and that is your choice. Anyone who wishes to discuss this further in a CIVIL MANNER, can do so here or in a PM.
Please note...My use of CAPITALIZATION and BOLD Print is not intended nor should it be perceived as Anger or Yelling, that is KID stuff used when Texting other kids. It is only used to highlight important points as is common in Business documents and Labels...JJ
First...Yes the 40-140 in 4 has been adopted by SMF...BUT...It only, I repeat ONLY applies to Injected, including factory Enhanced Meat, Ground and Boned-Rolled and Tied Meat, Inclusively and Exclusively! If this rule applied universally to all meat...Sous Vide cooking, cooking in a 130° to 160°F Water Bath, and the HUNDREDS of Restaurants that practice it would have been killing people for more than 3 decades! Additionally, If this included a Leave in the Meat from Raw Thermometer Probe, the 50+ Year Old Thermometers would have been BANNED years ago or, in our Litigious Society, a Blaze Orange tag of Cautionary Instructions, to wait X Hours before insertion, would be included with every Meat Thermometer sold...
Wade's Info is Textbook and accurate. Wade asks for documentation? My answer after years of training, teaching, and extensive research on the subject...
A Guideline like 40-140 in 4...aka the Rule (less letters than Guideline) is, Easy to remember, Provides a margin of Error, Has been gleaned from information provided by Multiple sources, including but not limited to, Professional Food service organizations, The American Culinary Federation, The ServSafe program, the USDA, FDA and Food Service Professionals with Years of Experience... Is, " 40 to 140*F in 4 " written down in any Government Food Service Law Manual, or Word for Word on any fore mentioned Website or Charter?...NO...But it Has been adopted by This Site and others to protect our members...
There is NO specific wording but the RULE encompasses Common Sense and Documented Food Safety Regulations, like not leaving raw meat at room temp longer than 2 hours and any Potentially Hazardous Food not kept Hot or Cold for more than 4 hours should be discarded. The RULE was conceived to cover, casual readers of SMF posts and all that LIFE throws at you and stuff that PEOPLE being HUMAN do by choice or circumstance....Example...You get everything ready for a meal. Pull the meat out of the refer, add the Rub...and your Kid falls of his Bike and you need to go get him, calm him, wash and bandage his skinned Knee and this takes 3 Hours. OR...You get the meat in the smoker, everything is running fine and 6 Beers later, you are Asleep in the Recliner and the Fire goes out! You wake 4 hours later and the Smoker IT is 90° and the Meat IT is 130°...Neither of these Examples and a host of others, are cause to TOSS the meat BUT...Understanding a guideline like 4-140 in 4, helps you make decisions and let's you know How to Proceed to keep from making your family Sick...Bacteria is not out to get anyone! But like with any Potentially Dangerous thing we do, Drive, Cross a Busy Street, Own and Shoot Weapons, the more you Know the Safer you are...
The problem we run into is... SMF has thousands of members that have Correctly and MORE OFTEN, INCORRECTLY applied the " Rule " to EVERY situation , every piece of meat and every thing that goes wrong...People are Notorious for reading or hearing some Quote and applying it without a full understanding of the Facts.You have all heard of the TELEPHONE GAME??? In the 70's some Clown writes an unproven supposition in an obscure journal that there is a link between MSG and dizziness, headaches and general illness...Does this happen to Some People? YES..But, people are also Allergic to Cats and Dogs, Peanuts, Pollen and a host of other natural,and man made things. However, as a result of wide spread media dissemination and people blindly repeating an UNDOCUMENTED and UNPROVEN statement, apply the MSG Scare Tactics to every form of Glutamate and Glutamic Acid, in its Natural and manufactured form. Is Soy Sauce MSG? Does Aged Parm Reggiano Cheese contain MSG? Does Mushrooms, Seaweed and MOTHERS MILK contain MSG? NO!!!! But there are Thousands of people that believe this because...THEY READ IT OR THAT IS WHAT THEY HEARD! Same situation here with our 40 to 140 in 4 Rule. It is Valid, it is Helpful, will it Cover your A$$ when something goes awry? SURE...BUT...It ONLY applies to Injected, Ground and BRT Meat. Any Meat SURFACE that has been kept below 40°F and spends more than 113 minutes in a Pan, Oven, Hot Water Bath or SMOKER over 130°F and 160°F for 2 Minutes, has had any Bacteria, known to Man, reduced to a Safe Level for Healthy Human Consumption. That's the Facts...Considering WE recommend and smoke Uncured Meat, at anywhere from 200°F to 350°F+, What can Survive those temps more than a few minutes? Add Salt and/or Sugar, both Scientifically Proven to be Hygroscopic and either Steal Water from Bacteria killing them or Bind the water from being used by Bacteria for reproduction and there is Very Little to worry about when you use some Common Sense passed down from Generations of Cooking and to a great extend follow a simple guideline like 40-140 in 4 hours...
Warming Meat to Room Temp...With the exception of intact Beef that you want an even, edge to edge, Medium or less Doneness...What do you GAIN from warming Pork or Chicken on the Counter? Is it really worth having that Pork or Chicken in the Danger Zone to SAVE 1-2 hours of Electricity in the Smoker at $.15 a KW Hour? Is it worth 2 Pounds of Charcoal Briquettes at $10 per 20 pound Bag? Is it worth a Arm Full of Splits that you got Free from your neighbors fallen Tree? So WHY do people let meat come to room temp??? Because they Read it somewhere or that's the way Mom/Dad or Uncle Bob did it! It is completely POINTLESS with meat that will be cooked to an IT over 140°F because the meat will be well done or falling apart and will be even edge to edge anyway. Now in reference to the 40-140 in 4 Rule and Counter Warming...Sure folks have gotten away with warming meat for the reasons stated above, Cooking Intact Meat Kills surface Bacteria and at temps of 225 or higher destroys the most Deadly Toxins. But, is Warming Meat a good Idea? Not really as you gain nothing and only add Risk, to the very old, the very young and those with compromised immune Systems getting some degree of sick. Keep the meat in the Refer until it goes in the Smoker.
This is the 21st Century, we have the Technology to get Answers to every question except the Meaning of Life and God's Plan for us....When in Doubt, Throw it Out??? Sure with a Puffy Can of Vegetables or when you Drop a Glass Baking Dish and have shards of Glass everywhere, or the Smell of whatever is off or bad and stays that way more than a Minute or Two after breaking the seal. But with Meat that you handled properly from Store to Smoker, is intact and you got the meat in a 200°F Smoker and the IT is taking longer than expected or the Power or Fire went out for a few hours?...When in Doubt....Pick up your Phone, Your Kids Phone or Computer and do some RESEARCH! There are Hundreds of Members on SMF that are well versed in Food Safety, beyond just the " RULE " and if THEY have Doubts Should point you to whom you should Contact for a definitive and fact based answer...I hope this can clear some myths and misinformation...JJ
