Foodborne Illness Risk Factors & Risk Control Plan Tool
Risk Factor: Inadequate Cooking Data Item #10: Cooked Foods Are Reheated to Required Temperatures
What’s the Risk? Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) Food that is reheated has likely gone through the cooking, cooling, and holding processes, which have increased the risk of potential contamination. When controls are not in place, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins can rapidly multiply. It is critical that food contamination be minimized to avoid this risk. What's the Rule? Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) Food that is cooked, cooled, and reheated for hot holding shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 74 ° C (165 ° F) for 15 seconds. TCS Food reheated in a microwave oven for hot holding should be rotated or stirred, covered, and allowed to stand covered for 2 minutes after reheating.
Why Do You Need a Risk Control Plan? A Risk Control Plan can reduce your risk of causing a foodborne illness outbreak. The process has three parts: 1) identify your chronic issues, 2) determine the root causes, and 3) create a food safety management system. This guidance document can be used to complete an agreement between you and your local regulator to plan for long-term food safety success. PART 1: Identify continuous or chronic out-of-compliance issues • List all reheating issues from previous inspection reports • Identify any pattern or similarity among the citations • List the corrective actions that have already been tried PART 2: Use the table below to determine the root causes • Chronic issues can have multiple root causes • Identify all the people, equipment, economic, or procedural factors that play a role in your recurring issues • This table includes a few examples, but it might not include your specific root cause
PEOPLE
EQUIPMENT
ECONOMICS
PROCEDURES
People not trained on reheating procedures People not trained on the use of reheating equipment
Equipment has insufficient capacity for intended use
Insufficient time committed to train staff on procedures Insufficient staff scheduled to execute procedures
Written procedures not clear and correct
Equipment not working properly
Written procedures not followed
Purchasing equipment that is not designed for commercial use
Procedures are not monitored, monitoring is not documented No process for taking and documenting corrective actions Procedure not posted at the point of use
Equipment used is for hot holding, not reheating Equipment not inspected and calibrated regularly
Thermometers not available or calibrated
People not monitoring and documenting reheating temps
No budget for repairs and preventive maintenance No budget for replacing unserviceable equipment
No preventive maintenance program for equipment
Person in charge is not a trained food protection manager
Refer to FDA Food Code: 3-403.11
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