Long-Term Care

Tip of the week: Proper food preparation and service for infection control

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, December 17, 2009

Proper procedure for cooling, thawing, and reheating food is necessary to prevent foodborne illnesses. Although many individuals will just leave food out to cool, food professionals have outlined a specific protocol that must be followed for cooling, thawing, and reheating food:

  • Cooling – All refrigerated food must be at or less than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. However, just because the refrigerator temperature is 41 degrees Fahrenheit does not mean this is the optimal refrigeration temperature for all food.
  • Thawing – Frozen foods must be kept at a temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Often, frozen food is thawed at room temperature. This should not occur. Instead, food professionals state that the proper way to thaw food is to place the frozen food in the refrigerator and let it thaw gradually; alternatively, you can run the frozen food under cool water that does not exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Reheating – Potentially hazardous food that has been previously cooked and refrigerated must be reheated to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. The reheating process should occur as quickly as possible.

This is an excerpt from HCPro’s book, The Long-Term Care Administrator’s Field Guide, by Brian Garavaglia, PhD.

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