Are You Using This Effective Cooling Method?

Cooling is one of the primary Critical Control Points that food businesses need to care about.

Today, we're talking about the popular two-stage cooling method.

If you haven't heard of it, as the name suggests, it's the process of reducing the internal temperature of food in two key steps:

1. Initial cooling. Using this method, freshly cooked foods with an internal temperature of 135°F have to cool down to 70°F within 2 hours as the first step. The first step is considered the critical time period.
2. Secondary cooling. After cooling down, the second step requires the temperature of the food to go down to a minimum temperature of 41°F or less within the next 4 hours.

Food business should use the two-stage cooling method because it helps your kitchen staff:

• Preserve food
• Comply with food safety regulations
• Prevent bacterial growth, food waste, and compromising other foods in the cooling unit

Some materials and methods that can be used to achieve the two-stage cooling method include blast chilling, ice-water baths, and ice paddles.

See some examples of how to use the two-stage cooling method as well as what could go wrong if you don't monitor temperatures properly.

(Plus, we've got a Food Cooling poster that you can save and post in your kitchen to help guide staff.)

How can you help your team cool food properly?

Whether you two-stage cooling or other methods, you can enhance your food safety compliance by using FoodDocs' digital Food Safety Management software.

It gives food service businesses intuitive and efficient tools to help you manage cooling methods and other food safety practices. And has benefits like:

1. Digital cooling log for accurately monitoring the two-stage cooling method
2. Step-by-step instructions for guiding food handlers in executing the cooling method
3. Real-time dashboard for an overview of food safety status

Hope today's resources help! ?? And if you want to learn more, check out FoodDocs!

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