Title 18 . Environmental Conservation

Chapter 31 . Administrative Enforcement

Section 230. Temperature control

18 AAC 31.230. Temperature control

(a) The operator of a food establishment shall ensure that

(1) a product thermometer is provided and used to measure the temperature of potentially hazardous food during cooking, reheating, hot-holding, cooling, and cold-holding;

(2) numerically-scaled, indicating thermometers, accurate to within 3ΓΈ F, are installed on cold-holding and hot-holding equipment, unless exempted under (3) of this subsection, so that the thermometers are easily seen and measure

(A) the upper one-third of cold-holding equipment; and

(B) the lower one-third of hot-holding equipment;

(3) if, due to the nature of the equipment, it is not practical to install an indicating thermometer on cold-holding or hot-holding equipment, such as an insulated transport container, a salad bar, or steam table, a product thermometer must be used to check food temperatures;

(4) equipment used to cook, cool, reheat, hot-hold, cold-hold, store, or transport potentially hazardous food is adequate for each menu item, method of preparation, and style of service;

(5) potentially hazardous food is

(A) free of evidence of previous temperature abuse when received at the food establishment; and

(B) received and maintained during cold-holding at 41ΓΈ F or below, except as specified in 18 AAC 31.410(k) or as otherwise provided in this chapter; the requirements of this subparagraph do not apply to synthetic custards and cream fillings, nondairy creaming, whitening, or whipping agents, or similar products if

(i) the product does not require refrigeration and is so labeled by the manufacturer; or

(ii) the operator provides the department with documentation from a qualified laboratory showing that the product will not support the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms or the slower growth of Clostridium botulinum;

(6) the internal temperature of potentially hazardous food during hot-holding is 140ΓΈ F or above, except rare beef, which must be kept at an internal temperature of 130ΓΈ F or above;

(7) frozen food is kept frozen and stored at 0ΓΈ F or below;

(8) potentially hazardous food is thawed

(A) in a refrigeration unit;

(B) under running potable water at 70ΓΈ F or below until thawed and then is immediately cooked or refrigerated;

(C) in a microwave oven and then immediately transferred to a conventional cooking unit as part of a continuous cooking process; or

(D) as part of a continuous cooking process;

(9) potentially hazardous food used as an ingredient for food that is in a form to be consumed without further cooking, such as salad, sandwiches, filled pastry, and reconstituted food, is chilled to 41ΓΈ F or below before preparation except as specified in 18 AAC 31.410(k) ;

(10) all parts of potentially hazardous food that require cooking are cooked with no interruption in the cooking process to the minimum internal temperature, and held at that temperature for the time shown in Table B of this section;

TABLE B MINIMUM INTERNAL TEMPERATURES ITEM TEMPERATURE TIME Poultry; stuffed meat, seafood, or poultry; stuffing containing meat, seafood, or poultry; traditional wild game meat; and casseroles containing potentially hazardous food 165ΓΈ F 15 seconds Pork; game meat; meat; ground or restructured meat or seafood; and injected meat; however, ground beef may be cooked to a temperature below 155ΓΈ F if ordered by an 158ΓΈ F one second adult consumer or or 155ΓΈ F 15 seconds Other potentially hazardous food requiring cooking; however, eggs may be cooked to a temperature below 145ΓΈ F if ordered by an adult consumer 145ΓΈ F 15 seconds Rare roast beef and rare beef steak; however, beef steak may be cooked to a temperature below 130ΓΈ F if ordered by an adult consumer 130ΓΈ F 15 seconds

(11) smoking of meat or poultry is done during cooking or, if done after cooking, the meat is kept at a temperature of 140ΓΈ F or above during the smoking process;

(12) potentially hazardous food that requires cooling or cold-holding after preparation or processing is cooled from a temperature of 140ΓΈ F or below to 70ΓΈ F or below within two hours, and from a temperature of 70ΓΈ F or below to 41ΓΈ F or below within four additional hours as follows, except as specified in 18 AAC 31.410(k) :

(A) place the container in an ice bath or cold running water and stir frequently;

(B) separate the food into smaller or thinner portions and refrigerate;

(C) place the food in a shallow pan, refrigerate, stirring occasionally if needed;

(D) use rapid chilling equipment;

(E) modify the recipe by adding ice or cold water in final stages of preparation; or

(F) use another approved method that will result in compliance with this section; and

(13) food containers in which food is being cooled are clearly marked with the date and time the cooling process began.

(b) In addition to (a) of this section, the operator of a food service shall ensure that

(1) if potentially hazardous food that has been cooked and then refrigerated is reheated, it is reheated

(A) with no interruption in the reheating process;

(B) within one hour or less to the following temperatures;

(i) except for rare beef, for food prepared in a food service: 165ΓΈ F or above;

(ii) except for rare beef, for food prepared at a food processing establishment: 140ΓΈ F or above;

(iii) for rare beef: 130ΓΈ F or above; and

(C) so as to evenly distribute the heat to the entirety of a liquid or semi-solid potentially hazardous food, such as with frequent stirring;

(2) if a microwave is used to reheat food, the food must be

(A) reheated with no interruption in the reheating process, except that the food must be rotated or stirred at least once midway through the reheating process to compensate for uneven heat distribution;

(B) covered to retain surface moisture;

(C) heated to a temperature of at least 165ΓΈ F in all parts of the food; and

(D) allowed to stand covered for two minutes after reheating to obtain temperature equilibrium; and

(3) hot-holding equipment such as steam tables and food warmers are not used to reheat food.

History: Eff. 5/18/97, Register 142; am/readopt 12/19/99, Register 152; am 6/28/2001, Register 158

Authority: AS 17.20.005

AS 17.20.020

AS 17.20.072

AS 17.20.180

AS 17.20.290

AS 44.46.020

Editor's note: Effective 12/19/99, Register 152, the Department of Environmental Conservation readopted 18 AAC 31.230, to affirm the validity of that section following statutory amendments made in ch. 72, SLA 1998. The department also repealed and readopted 18 AAC 31.230(a)(10) and (b), as well as Table B of that section. Chapter 72, SLA 1998 relocated department authority to adopt regulations in 18 AAC 31 from AS 03.05 to AS 17.20.