Scores on Doors and Temperature
Scores on Doors penalize restaurants heavily for improper food storage temperatures. Food poisoning risk is significantly influenced by temperature, a problem easily addressed in the 21st century. Bacteria flourish between 5°C and 60°C.
Above 60°C, they are killed, and below 5°C, their growth slows. Standards aim to keep food out of this 5°C to 60°C range or minimize its time within it. The criteria related to temperature include:
- Ensure PHF is within temperature control (less than 5°C or above 60°C) during food receipt, storage, display, and transport; frozen food should be hard frozen - 1, 4, or 8 points.
- Take all practicable measures during food processing to ensure safety and suitability, prevent contamination, and use process steps if necessary - 4 or 8 points.
- Rapidly cool cooked PHF following the 2+4 hr rule, ensure correct thawing of items, and process quickly - 4 or 8 points.
- Reheat PHF rapidly using an oven, stove top, or microwave (avoiding bain marie) - 8 points.
That’s up to 28 points relating to temperature, and 3 potential automatic failures.
Here are some key points that are important to keep in mind:
- Monitor storage areas consistently using temperature loggers like Logtag or Thermocron to reliably record results.
- Employ temperature loggers for vehicles, and for caterers, log items stored in eskies or larger containers.
- Expedite the heating and cooling of food; use Thermocron in pots to optimize the process and adjust container sizes for compliance.
- Use food-grade thermometers; avoid inexpensive ones without accuracy indications as they are non-compliant.
- While infrared thermometers are acceptable for receiving items, be cautious of operator errors and be aware of their limitations.
- Exercise caution with food during transitions between storage locations, preventing Potentially Hazardous Foods (PHF) from being accidentally left out of controlled environments.
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