Scenarios: Cooling and Reheating Food

Marisol works in the kitchen at a hospital cafeteria. She prepared a large pot of chicken soup that finished cooking at 135 degrees F. She needs to cool it properly before storing it in the refrigerator. She places the entire pot, uncovered, on a shelf in the walk-in cooler.

According to the two-stage cooling method, what temperatures must the soup reach and in what time frames?

• 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within 2 hours, then to 41 degrees F within 4 more hours

• 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within 1 hour, then to 41 degrees F within 5 more hours

• 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within 4 hours, then to 41 degrees F within 2 more hours

• 135 degrees F to 41 degrees F within 4 hours total

Which method would best help Marisol cool the soup quickly and safely?

• Placing the full pot in the cooler and checking it the next morning

• Adding room-temperature water directly to the pot to lower the volume

• Dividing the soup into shallow pans before placing it in the cooler

• Covering the pot tightly with foil and leaving it on the counter

If Marisol checks the soup after two hours and it is still at 90 degrees F, what should she do next?

DeShawn is a prep cook at a catering company. He is reheating a tray of leftover lasagna that was made in-house yesterday and stored properly in the refrigerator. He needs to reheat it for hot holding before the lunch event begins.

What internal temperature must the lasagna reach, and how quickly must it get there?

• 165 degrees F within 2 hours

• 135 degrees F within 1 hour

• 145 degrees F within 2 hours

• 165 degrees F within 4 hours

DeShawn also needs to reheat a commercially processed, packaged macaroni and cheese for hot holding. How does this reheating requirement differ from the lasagna?

• It only needs to reach 135 degrees F instead of 165 degrees F

• It has no minimum temperature requirement as long as it is steaming hot

• It must reach 145 degrees F within 2 hours instead of 165 degrees F

• It must reach 165 degrees F within 1 hour instead of 2 hours

If the lasagna does not reach the required temperature within the required time, name the corrective action DeShawn should take.