A concession stand uses time as a public health control for hot dogs removed from temperature control at 11:00 a.m. If the hot dogs never had their temperature monitored after removal, by what time must they be sold, served, or discarded?
a.3:00 p.m., 4 hours after removal
b.5:00 p.m., 6 hours after removal
c.1:00 p.m., 2 hours after removal
d.10:00 p.m., when the stand closes
Explanation
Under the basic time-as-a-public-health-control option, food removed from temperature control must be sold, served, or discarded within 4 hours. The food must be marked with the discard time, and anything left at 3:00 p.m. must be thrown out. The 6-hour window is not available here: it applies only to cold food that leaves control at 41°F or below and stays under 70°F, and these hot dogs were hot and unmonitored. Closing time is never the deadline, and nothing requires discarding at 2 hours.
Law Reference: FDA Food Code §3-501.19Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
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