Below is a blurb on holding temps.... I recently linked a botulism case where a gas station held soft cheese in a warming table type thing... Seems the staff continually added fresh cheese to that table's cheese pan... The cheese, I think, came in 5 or 10# bags... The original cheese "could" have been in the warmer for weeks due to the rotation and not cleaning the cheese pan...
Anyhow, I seem to remember, it was stated... "Foods can be stored hot (>140 F) in a covered container for 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 days... it must be stirred and temps taken to insure no zone, in the food container, is lower than 140 F... any serving utensils, for that particular dish, must be stored in the hot food...
So, I'm guessing, do not put the serving utensil in a dish at ambient conditions.. bacteria will start to grow..
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subcommittee membership list is attached.) The subcommittee met on November 13, 2001, in Washington, DC, and discussed the questions posed by FDA to NACMCF. Representatives from FDA and the food industry presented additional background on the hot holding issue. In advance of the meeting, FDA provided a background document that contained pertinent issues for NACMCF to consider, including information about the following: Target organisms; human epidemiology; highest temperature of concern for outgrowth of spores; role of evaporative cooling; critical limit for the hot holding temperature; impact on public health due to a lowering of the recommended hot holding temperature; and FDA’s current thinking on hot holding. (A
copy of the background document is attached.)
FDA asked NACMCF to consider the following questions:
- Should the hot holding temperature in the Food Code be changed from 140 degrees Fahrenheit to a lower temperature, and if so, should there be associated monitoring and record keeping requirements?
- Is there an increased risk to food safety if the temperature is lowered from 140 degrees Fahrenheit?
- If a “margin of safety” needs to be associated with a lower temperature, what should it be?
- What minimum time/temperature parameters for hot holding would ensure food safety?
- Should there be monitoring and/or record keeping requirements associated with hot holding at temperatures less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit?
Question 1: Should the hot holding temperature in the Food Code be changed from 140 degrees Fahrenheit to a lower temperature, and if so, should there be associated monitoring and record keeping requirements?
Response: The Committee concluded that the temperature can be lowered from 140 degrees Fahrenheit and result in safe product if dwell time is associated with any temperature lower than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The Committee prefaced this conclusion by adding that monitoring, record keeping, and documentation are components of the basic principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). HACCP is the optimal framework for building science-based process control to prevent food safety hazards into food production systems.
