Why does two-stage cooling seem to contradict to the “4-hour rule”?
While it may appear on the surface that two-stage cooling contradicts the “4-hour rule” you need to look closely at the two-stage cooling method to get the full story. In the past, restaurants had four hours, straight through, to cool food to 41°F or lower. Now the FDA recommends cooling food in two stages — from 135°F to 70°F in two hours then from 70°F to 41°F or lower in an additional four hours for a total cooling time of six hours. However, this does not mean you have six hours straight through. It is important to realize that if the food does not reach 70°F in two hours, you cannot continue to cool the food; the food must be reheated to 165°F for 15 seconds within two hours before another attempt at cooling can be made. To cool food quickly from 135°F to 70°F, a quick chill method (such as an ice bath or ice paddles) must be used. Because you are able to cool food at a rate of over 67 degrees an hour, it is reasonable to say that if you continue to use the same method, it will n
