Cool Foods Safely

One of the leading causes of food-borne illness is improperly cooled foods. Cooked foods that are to be stored need to be cooled down to below 41°F/5°C as quickly as possible. Cooling to below 41°F/5°C should be completed within four hours or less, unless you use the two-stage cooling method endorsed by the FDA in its 1999 Model Food Code. In the first stage of this method, foods should be cooled down to 70°F/21°C within two hours; in the second stage, foods should reach 41°/5°C or below within an additional four hours, for a total cooling time of six hours.