“Perfect” cooling records… or so it seemed

EHO Story 📩

Back in my local government days, I was inspecting a pub. The inspection was going fairly well until I asked to see the cooling records.

Every single entry looked perfect. All food had been cooked to 75°C and cooled neatly down to 5°C.

So I asked the chef, “Do you have a blast chiller?”

They looked at me and said, “No?”

I followed up with, “So how are you cooling your food down?”

Their answer was very honest.
“We just leave it on the side until it cools.”

I paused and asked one more question.
“How has the food reached 5°C when the kitchen is probably sitting at around 20°C?”

Cue the awkward silence.

The issue was not necessarily that they were cooling food badly. It was that the records did not reflect what was actually happening in the kitchen. Someone had written down what they thought I wanted to see, not what was real.

If food is cooled at room temperature, let’s be realistic, it’s highly unlikely to reach fridge temperatures, and that’s ok, providing the food is cooled quickly and then placed into the fridge or freezer.

Food Safety Tip ✅

• Aim to cool food as fast as possible (ideally within 90 minutes).
• Use a cooling method that is most effective for the type of food you are trying to cool.
• Use a probe thermometer to check the temperature of the food.
• Once cooled, transfer food into the fridge or freezer promptly.
• Cooling records should reflect what actually happens, not what looks best.

The Serious Lesson

When records are filled in to please an inspector rather than reflect reality, they stop being a safety tool and become a liability. Honest records help you spot problems early and fix them before they turn into real risks.