Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods SOP
PURPOSE: To prevent foodborne illness by ensuring that all potentially hazardous foods are cooled properly.
SCOPE: This procedure applies to foodservice employees and volunteers working for Insert Business Name.
KEY WORDS: Cross-Contamination, Temperatures, Cooling, Holding
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Train foodservice employees on using the procedures in this SOP. Refer to Using and Calibrating
Thermometers SOP.
2. Follow State and local health department requirements.
3. Modify recipes, production schedules, and staff work hours to allow for implementation of proper cooling
procedures.
4. Prepare and cool food in batch sizes indicated in approved recipes.
5. Chill food rapidly using an appropriate cooling method:
• Place food in shallow containers, no more than 4 inches deep and uncovered on the top shelf in the
back of walk-in or reach-in cooler.
• Use a quick-chill unit such as a blast chiller.
• Stir the food in a container placed in an ice water bath.
• Use ice wands.
• Add ice as an ingredient.
• Separate food into smaller or thinner portions.
• Pre-chill ingredients and containers used for making bulk items, served cold.
6. Chill cooked, hot food from:
• 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within 2 hours. Take corrective action immediately if food in not
chilled from 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within 2 hours.
• 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F or below in remaining time. The total cooling process from 135
degrees F to 41 degrees F may not exceed 6 hours. Take corrective action immediately if food is not
chilled from 135 degrees F to 41 degrees F within the 6 hour cooling process.
7. Chill prepared, ready-to-eat foods such as cut melons from 70 degrees F to 41 F or below within 4 hours.
Take corrective action immediately if ready-to-eat food is not chilled from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F
within 4 hours.
MONITORING:
1. Use a clean, sanitized, and calibrated probe thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the
food during the cooling process.
2. Monitor temperatures of products every hour throughout the cooling process by inserting a probe
thermometer into the center of the food and at various locations in the product.
CORRECTIVE ACTION:
1. Retrain any foodservice employee found not following the procedures in this SOP.
2. Reheat cooked hot food to 165 degrees F for 15 seconds and start the cooling process again using a
different cooling method when the food is:
• Above 70 degrees F and 2 hours or less into the cooling process; and
• Above 41 degrees F and 6 hours or less into the cooling process.
3. Discard cooked, hot food immediately when the food is:
• Above 70 degrees F and more than 2 hours into the cooling process; or
• Above 41 degrees F and less than 4 hours into the cooling process.
• Discard prepared ready-to-eat foods when the food is above 41 degrees F and more than 4 hours
into the cooling process.
Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods SOP, Continued
VERIFICATION AND RECORD KEEPING
Foodservice employees will record temperatures and corrective actions taken on the Cooling Temperature Log.
Foodservice employees will record if there are no foods cooled on any working day by indicating “ No Foods
Cooled” on the Cooling Temperature Log. The Processing Coordinator will verify that foodservice employees are
cooling food properly by visually monitoring foodservice employees during the shift, and reviewing, initialing, and
dating, the temperature log each working day. The Cooling Temperature Logs are to be kept on file of a minimum
of 1 year.
DATE IMPLEMENTED: BY: .
DATE REVIEWED: BY: .
DATE REVISED: BY: .
