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The blast-freezer option freezes the fish at -31°F or below until it is solid and stores it at -31°F or below for a minimum of 15 hours. A second option stores it at -4°F or below for 24 hours after the same blast freeze, and storage at 0°F or 10°F does not meet either schedule.

Aquacultured fish such as salmon raised in net-pens or land-based tanks and fed formulated feed containing no live parasites are exempt from the freezing requirement, as are several named tuna species, molluscan shellfish, and scallop adductor muscle. Wild-caught fish, and anything bought from an unapproved source, are not.

For raw animal food that will be cooked, thawed portions may not be above 41°F for more than 4 hours, counting both the time under running water and the time needed to prepare the food for cooking. The water must also flow fast enough to agitate the food and float loose particles off in an overflow.

TCS food prepared from ingredients at ambient temperature, such as reconstituted foods and canned tuna, must be cooled to 41°F or less within 4 hours. The two-stage 135°F to 70°F to 41°F schedule applies to food that was cooked, and this salad was never hot.

The listed methods are shallow pans, smaller or thinner portions, rapid cooling equipment, stirring in an ice water bath, containers that transfer heat well, adding ice as an ingredient, and other effective methods. Simply setting a full deep pan in a walk-in is the practice that most often fails the six-hour limit.

Food being cooled is loosely covered, or left uncovered when it is protected from overhead contamination, so heat can escape from the surface. A tight cover holds steam over the food and is a common reason a batch misses the two-hour and six-hour cooling marks.

Reheating for hot holding must be done rapidly, and the time the food spends between 41°F and the required reheating temperature may not exceed 2 hours. The pot roast must reach 165°F for 15 seconds by noon, and a slow steam table cannot do that work.

Food reheated in a microwave for hot holding must reach at least 165°F in all parts, be rotated or stirred, be covered, and stand covered for 2 minutes after reheating. The standing time lets the uneven hot and cold spots a microwave creates equalize before the food goes on the line.

Raw fruits and vegetables must be thoroughly washed in water to remove soil and other contaminants before they are cut, combined with other ingredients, cooked, or served. Washing after cutting is too late, because the knife has already carried rind organisms into the flesh, and detergents are not approved for washing produce.

Juice packaged in a food establishment must be treated under a HACCP plan to attain a 5-log reduction, which is a 99.999% reduction, of the most resistant organism of public health significance. Untreated packaged juice may be sold only with the federal warning label, and an operation serving a highly susceptible population may not sell it at all.

Types of raw animal food are separated from each other by using separate equipment, arranging them so cross contamination cannot occur, or preparing each type at a different time or in a separate area. With one table, sequencing the work and cleaning and sanitizing between types is the practical way to comply.

The reminder asterisks the animal-derived foods to a footnote stating that written information is available on request, that consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase the risk of foodborne illness, or that same statement with a note about certain medical conditions. A liability disclaimer is not one of the permitted statements.

The advisory has two parts: a disclosure that describes the animal-derived foods, such as raw oysters or hamburgers cooked to order, or asterisks them to a footnote, and a reminder about the increased risk. Supplier names, inspection scores, and certification numbers are unrelated to the advisory.

The 145°F for 15 seconds allowance covers raw eggs broken and prepared in response to a consumer's order and served immediately. Eggs pooled for a buffet fall in the 155°F for 17 seconds group, because one contaminated egg can seed the whole batch and the food will sit on a line.

Food thawed in a microwave must be transferred immediately to conventional cooking equipment with no interruption, because the microwave already begins warming the outside of the item. Refrigerated thawing and running-water thawing stand on their own without a required cooking step immediately after.

Plant foods cooked for hot holding are cooked to 135°F, which is also the minimum hot-holding temperature. Vegetables carry no raw-animal pathogens, so their cooking requirement exists to make sure they enter the holding line at a safe temperature rather than climbing to it slowly.

Ready-to-eat TCS food that was commercially processed and packaged in a plant inspected by the regulatory authority is heated to at least 135°F when reheated for hot holding. The 165°F requirement applies to food that the operation cooked, cooled, and is reheating itself, where handling in the kitchen could have reintroduced pathogens.