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Food Safety Temperatures

Content by Qstream

Temperature is one of the most important elements of food safety. Knowing the correct temperatures involved in cooking, cooling, holding, and storing food is a critical step in avoiding food poisoning or food borne illness. Learn about food safety temperatures with this starter Qstream microlearning course.

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Category: Safety and Risk Management

Industry: Food & Hospitality

Questions: 10

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Food Safety Temperatures

Navigate through the Qstream questions below to preview. Each challenge is designed following Qstream’s best practices for maximum knowledge reinforcement and engagement. This Qstream is free for clients to use as a starting point.

Click on each title to preview the question in the mobile/desktop widget.

1. Cooking foods to 145 >
2. Properly cooling foods >
3. Two-stage cooling process >
4. Holding hot TCS food >
5. Factors for cooling food >
6. Cooling a large pot of chicken soup >
7. Reheating ready-to-eat foods >
8. Reheating steak for stew >
9. Hot holding with steam table >
10. Hot holding bake ziti tray >

Follow the interactions on each screen to answer Qstream questions as a Participant.

Which of the following foods must be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F?

Answer explanation:
Verify that a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F is reached before removing fish, lamb chops, and beef roasts from their heat source. Other foods that must be cooked to at least 145 degrees F include shellfish and uncooked ham, as well as pork and veal (chops, steaks, and roasts). Eggs and ground beef must be cooked to at least 160 degrees F. To get the most accurate temperature reading, be sure to insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the food.

Which of the following are methods for properly cooling foods?

Answer explanation:
Food must be cooled safely and quickly to prevent foodborne illness. Proper cooling methods include immersing food containers in an ice water bath, using an ice paddle to stir food, and moving food to a blast chiller.

Another method involves using ice as an ingredient at the end of the cooking process. Remember that refrigerators may not move food through the temperature danger zone quick enough, and hot food may raise the temperature of everything else in the refrigerator.

In the two-stage cooling process, Time and Temperature Control (TCS) foods must be cooled from 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F in ______.

Answer explanation:
All TCS foods that will not be served or hot-held immediately must be cooled using the two-stage cooling process. Food must be cooled from 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within two hours. This is the first stage of the two-stage process. Food then has to cool from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F within four hours. Remember that the total cooling time for the combined stages may not exceed six hours.

If holding equipment is unavailable and you are permitted and approved to use time as a control, hot TCS food can be held without temperature control for ____ hours.

Answer explanation:
Hot TCS food can be held without temperature control for up to four hours as long as the food is cooked to at least 135 degrees F before removing it from temperature control. Be sure to document the time it is removed from the heat in accordance with record-keeping procedures. Cold TCS food can be held without temperature control for up to six hours (or based on the jurisdiction) but must be monitored at least hourly to ensure it does not exceed 70 degrees F. Remember that cold TCS food must be discarded immediately if the temperature rises above 70 degrees F.

Which of the following factors impact how quickly food will cool?

Answer explanation:
Factors that affect how quickly food will cool include the density and size of the food as well as the type of storage container. Thicker, more dense foods take longer to cool, as do larger pieces of meat like a roast. Cutting meat into smaller pieces can speed up the cooling process. Using smaller pans or shallow storage containers can also help disperse the food and make it cool more quickly.

You have finished cooking a large pot of chicken soup and need to safely cool it. You’ve divided it into smaller stainless-steel containers and placed them in an ice-water bath. You can best ensure that you are hitting the required temperatures within the two-stage cooling process timeframes if you do which of the following?

Answer explanation:
Regularly checking the internal temperature during the cooling process allows you to take any corrective action before your soup remains in the danger zone for too long. A cooling log offers a place to record your readings and monitor progress through both stages of the two-stage cooling process. If you wait to check the temperature at the two-hour mark, it may be too late to get your soup down to 70 degrees F. If you wait until the six-hour mark, you won’t know if the soup made it to the required 70 degrees F within two hours.

Commercially prepared ready-to-eat foods like mozzarella sticks or french fries must be reheated to an internal temperature of _______ degrees F.

Answer explanation:
Commercially prepared ready-to-eat foods that are cooked on-site for the first time must be reheated to an internal temperature of 135 degrees F or to the temperature indicated in the manufacturer’s instructions for hot holding. Be sure to take at least two internal temperatures from each batch of food that is reheated and record your readings.

You are making a stew using cubes of leftover beef steak that had been properly cooled and stored. You will need to make sure the beef is reheated to a minimum internal temperature of ____ degrees F for at least ____ seconds.

Answer explanation:
The leftover beef is a TCS food that was previously cooked and cooled, so it must be reheated to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. This is true when reheating all leftover TCS foods to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and foodborne illnesses. Remember that TCS foods must only be reheated once.

You have cooked a chicken casserole for an event and are using a steam table to hot hold the dish until dinner is served. You are checking for a minimum holding temperature of ____ degrees F or higher.

Answer explanation:
Hot foods that are considered TCS foods need to be held at 135 degrees F or higher if they are not going to be served immediately. This helps to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and foodborne illnesses. Since this chicken casserole will not be served until later in the evening, you should check that the steam table maintains a holding temperature of 135 degrees F. Note that the holding temperature is different from the minimum cooking temperature for chicken. Although chicken needs to be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees F, it can be hot-held at 135 degrees F until serving.

While hot holding a tray of baked ziti, your hourly thermometer reading reveals that the internal temperature has dropped to 120 degrees F due to a problem with the steam table. Which of the following is your next step?

Answer explanation:
Since you were checking every hour, you noticed this temperature drop within the acceptable timeframe to reheat your ziti. Cooked food that drops below 135 degrees F during hot holding service must be reheated to 165 degrees F for 15 seconds within two hours. Remember that food should not be cooled in refrigerators because it may not move through the temperature danger zone quick enough and may raise the temperature of everything else in the cooler.

Which of the following foods must be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F?

Answer explanation:
Verify that a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F is reached before removing fish, lamb chops, and beef roasts from their heat source. Other foods that must be cooked to at least 145 degrees F include shellfish and uncooked ham, as well as pork and veal (chops, steaks, and roasts). Eggs and ground beef must be cooked to at least 160 degrees F. To get the most accurate temperature reading, be sure to insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the food.

Which of the following are methods for properly cooling foods?

Answer explanation:
Food must be cooled safely and quickly to prevent foodborne illness. Proper cooling methods include immersing food containers in an ice water bath, using an ice paddle to stir food, and moving food to a blast chiller.

Another method involves using ice as an ingredient at the end of the cooking process. Remember that refrigerators may not move food through the temperature danger zone quick enough, and hot food may raise the temperature of everything else in the refrigerator.

In the two-stage cooling process, Time and Temperature Control (TCS) foods must be cooled from 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F in ______.

Answer explanation:
All TCS foods that will not be served or hot-held immediately must be cooled using the two-stage cooling process. Food must be cooled from 135 degrees F to 70 degrees F within two hours. This is the first stage of the two-stage process. Food then has to cool from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F within four hours. Remember that the total cooling time for the combined stages may not exceed six hours.

If holding equipment is unavailable and you are permitted and approved to use time as a control, hot TCS food can be held without temperature control for ____ hours.

Answer explanation:
Hot TCS food can be held without temperature control for up to four hours as long as the food is cooked to at least 135 degrees F before removing it from temperature control. Be sure to document the time it is removed from the heat in accordance with record-keeping procedures. Cold TCS food can be held without temperature control for up to six hours (or based on the jurisdiction) but must be monitored at least hourly to ensure it does not exceed 70 degrees F. Remember that cold TCS food must be discarded immediately if the temperature rises above 70 degrees F.

Which of the following factors impact how quickly food will cool?

Answer explanation:
Factors that affect how quickly food will cool include the density and size of the food as well as the type of storage container. Thicker, more dense foods take longer to cool, as do larger pieces of meat like a roast. Cutting meat into smaller pieces can speed up the cooling process. Using smaller pans or shallow storage containers can also help disperse the food and make it cool more quickly.

You have finished cooking a large pot of chicken soup and need to safely cool it. You’ve divided it into smaller stainless-steel containers and placed them in an ice-water bath. You can best ensure that you are hitting the required temperatures within the two-stage cooling process timeframes if you do which of the following?

Answer explanation:
Regularly checking the internal temperature during the cooling process allows you to take any corrective action before your soup remains in the danger zone for too long. A cooling log offers a place to record your readings and monitor progress through both stages of the two-stage cooling process. If you wait to check the temperature at the two-hour mark, it may be too late to get your soup down to 70 degrees F. If you wait until the six-hour mark, you won’t know if the soup made it to the required 70 degrees F within two hours.

Commercially prepared ready-to-eat foods like mozzarella sticks or french fries must be reheated to an internal temperature of _______ degrees F.

Answer explanation:
Commercially prepared ready-to-eat foods that are cooked on-site for the first time must be reheated to an internal temperature of 135 degrees F or to the temperature indicated in the manufacturer’s instructions for hot holding. Be sure to take at least two internal temperatures from each batch of food that is reheated and record your readings.

You are making a stew using cubes of leftover beef steak that had been properly cooled and stored. You will need to make sure the beef is reheated to a minimum internal temperature of ____ degrees F for at least ____ seconds.

Answer explanation:
The leftover beef is a TCS food that was previously cooked and cooled, so it must be reheated to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. This is true when reheating all leftover TCS foods to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and foodborne illnesses. Remember that TCS foods must only be reheated once.

You have cooked a chicken casserole for an event and are using a steam table to hot hold the dish until dinner is served. You are checking for a minimum holding temperature of ____ degrees F or higher.

Answer explanation:
Hot foods that are considered TCS foods need to be held at 135 degrees F or higher if they are not going to be served immediately. This helps to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and foodborne illnesses. Since this chicken casserole will not be served until later in the evening, you should check that the steam table maintains a holding temperature of 135 degrees F. Note that the holding temperature is different from the minimum cooking temperature for chicken. Although chicken needs to be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees F, it can be hot-held at 135 degrees F until serving.

While hot holding a tray of baked ziti, your hourly thermometer reading reveals that the internal temperature has dropped to 120 degrees F due to a problem with the steam table. Which of the following is your next step?

Answer explanation:
Since you were checking every hour, you noticed this temperature drop within the acceptable timeframe to reheat your ziti. Cooked food that drops below 135 degrees F during hot holding service must be reheated to 165 degrees F for 15 seconds within two hours. Remember that food should not be cooled in refrigerators because it may not move through the temperature danger zone quick enough and may raise the temperature of everything else in the cooler.

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