Louisville Middle School

Official wording

3-501.16 Time/temperature control for food safety, hot holding. Observed cooked chicken drums at temperatures ranging from 112°F to 120°F in the hot hold steaming table and inside the oven. Time/temperature control for food safety shall be maintained at 135°F or higher during hot holding. Other foods were found to be at 135°F or higher. Talked to the kitchen manager, and she states she cooked the chicken to 165°F and does not understand why the chicken's temperature is so low. She then placed the chicken inside the oven to reheat to 165°F. The chicken had been cooked for less than 1 hour, so it was safe to keep.

In plain English

Food was not kept cold enough, hot enough, cooled fast enough, or cooked or reheated to the right temperature. Bacteria grow quickly in the "danger zone" between 41°F and 135°F, which makes this one of the most important food-safety checks.