Hello Curiogeorges-ga,
Thank you for your question.
Florida is required to keep foods cooled at 41 degrees F.
The source of my information can be found at the following websites:
At The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Division of Hotels and Restaurants:
“Effective September 26, 2001, cold holding of potentially hazardous
foods in public food service establishments must be maintained at 41
degrees Fahrenheit (5 deg. C) or less. This requirement does not apply
during food preparation, cooking, cooling, or when time is used as the
public health control. The division has given a 5-year phase-in
period of this requirement to give licensees time to upgrade or
replace equipment. As of the above date, ALL cold holding units which
contain potentially hazardous foods must be capable of maintaining the
internal temperature of the food at 41° F. or less.”
Florida State Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Website
http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/hr/news/food.shtml
Refrigeration Equipment:
“Cold holding maximum of perishable foods is 41 degrees F. FDA says
food facilities have 5 years to replace old equipment designed to cold
hold at the old 45 degree F regulation.”
Food Service Website
http://www.foodservice.com/food_safety/fb14.cfm
Refrigerating Food at Proper Temperature
“The FDA Food Code recommends a cold storage temperature of 41F for
all raw and cooked food that needs to be refrigerated. The dangers of
inadequate refrigeration are well known. Certain types of Listeria and
Clostridium botulinum continue to multiply slowly in foods at
temperatures of 45F. Those pathogens must be chilled to 41F to stop
their growth.”
Center for Science in the Public Interest Website
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/dineat4.html
Additional information that may interest you:
Description of inspections, policies and lists of recent disciplinary
action against restaurants in Florida
http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/hr/index.shtml
The Food Code 2001 available for download in both HTML and PDF
versions.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
Food and Drug Administration
Washington, DC 20204
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fc01-toc.html
Regulatory comments submitted by the National Restaurant Association
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on February 25, 2002 relating
to The Food Code 2001.
The following excerpts relate specifically to refrigeration
temperatures.
- “Section 3-501.16(B) and (C) This section allows jurisdictions to
give a five year "phase-in" period from the time of local code
adoption, for replacement of refrigeration equipment that fails to
meet the new refrigeration standard of 41°F. Since April 1998, most
newly NSF listed refrigeration equipment has been manufactured to meet
this new 41°F standard. Unfortunately, the five-year exemption does
not allow for a reasonable 12-year economic payback period for
pre-1998 equipment. Furthermore, there is little public health
justification for the standards application to short-term refrigerated
storage, such as open top, grill line and prep reach-in units.”
“We recommend that the five-year "phase-in" period be extended to ten
years from the date of local adoption of the statute. Furthermore, we
recommend an exemption for the life of the refrigeration equipment
(grandfathering) be given for all small open top, grill line and prep
reach-in units intended for short-term storage of three days or less.
This is a reasonable request that will greatly reduce the equipment
cost to operators and have absolutely no negative impact on food
safety or public health.”
- “Section 3-501.17(A) This section states that "…refrigerated,
ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared and held in a food
establishment for more than 24 hours shall be clearly marked…." We
believe that the 24 hour requirement is overly stringent, and clearly
believe there is no public health significance in requiring labeling
of a food product within 24 hours, if maintained at the required safe
cold holding temperature. Since the majority of RTE PHF's are sold or
served well before the Code's maximum of 4 to 7 days, imposing the
datemarking requirement adds a substantial labor cost to the industry
without improving food safety in any measurable way. Furthermore, the
requirement adds time to the already pressed inspector's schedule to
adequately monitor the requirement without demonstrated public health
benefit. Therefore, we would recommend modifying the code language of
section 3-501.17(a) to accommodate a more practical approach. The
following language should be considered:”
"…refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared and
held more than 48 hours in a food establishment shall be clearly
marked…"
- “Section 3-501-17(B) This section, as written, requires a container
of refrigerated, ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food prepared and
packaged by a food processing plant to be clearly marked upon opening
of the container and discarded after 7 calendar days if held at 41°F
or less, or 4 calendar days if food is maintained at 45°F or less.
Potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat foods prepared in a food
processing plant have already been clearly marked by the manufacturer
either with the "Sell by" date and/or "Best if used By" date. The
safety of the food product has already been clearly specified by the
manufacturer, if stored at the required safe holding temperatures. We
recommend that this section be modified to recognize "sell by" and
"use by" dates. The following language resolves this issue and should
be considered for replacement in this section:”
" …a container of refrigerated, ready-to-eat potentially hazardous
food prepared and packaged by a food processing plant shall be clearly
marked to indicate the "Sell By" date, "Best used By" date, or a date
by which the food shall be consumed."
Restaurant Organization Website
http://www.restaurant.org/healthsafety/comments/2002_02_25foodcode.cfm
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I hope you find this helpful.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga |
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