Template Food Control Plan Revised Sous Vide Section
Template Food Control Plan Revised Sous Vide Section
Template Food Control Plan Revised Sous Vide Section
Goal Why?
To ensure food is safe to eat when prepared using the sous • Lower temperature cooking takes longer to kill harmful
vide method. microbes and if the temperature is too low, harmful
microbes will grow rather than be killed.
The Act requires that:
• Harmful microbes may survive and grow when using the
• Food must be processed and handled in ways that minimise
sous vide cooking method if the internal food temperature
the contamination or deterioration of food.
and time combinations are not met.
• There must be procedures in place that prevent, eliminate
or reduce hazards during the production, processing and
handling of food.
• Food must be safe and suitable.
Ministry for Primary Industries Food Control Plan – March 2017 SERVE 10.17 page 1
How this is done How this is done
• If you are following a proven cooking method measure the Internal temperature and holding times
water bath temperature and time according to the proven Cook-Serve: Serve immediately Cook-Chill: Serve
process. Check the accuracy of your proven method by or within 2 days of cooking. immediately or
measuring the internal temperature at the centre of the Internal within 5 days of
thickest part of the food from the pack that is the slowest to food
cooking.
temp
heat (e.g. the thickest piece of meat located at the slowest
°C All meats except Poultry Red meat and
heating point in the water bath). See Proving a cooking poultry Time Time poultry Time
method for sous vide (mins/hours) (mins) (mins/hours)
• Once the centre of the thickest part of the food has met the
420 mins /
internal food temperature chosen from the table, it must 55
1. Cook-Serve time and temperature combinations are When food is removed from the water bath at the end of the
designed to achieve a 6 log10 reduction in the concentration holding time it must be:
of Salmonella and must only be applied to foods that are: • kept in its vacuum sealed packaging until it is ready to be
–– served immediately after sous vide cooking; or used; and either
–– cooled quickly to 5°C or less after sous vide cooking, –– served immediately; or
stored and used within 2 days. –– taken from the bag and seared (or cooked in some other
way) and served immediately; or
When using the Cook-Serve time and temperature –– kept in the bag, cooled quickly and stored at 5°C or less
combination: for up to 2 days if using the Cook-Serve method; or
–– Red meat products must be held at a water bath –– kept in the bag, cooled quickly and stored at 5°C or less
temperature of 55°C or higher during the holding time. for up to 5 days if using the Cook-Chill method.
–– Poultry products must be held at a water bath
temperature of 60°C or higher during the holding time. Cooling and storing sous vide food (Cook-Serve and
Cook-Chill)
2. Cook-Chill time and temperature combinations are
Once the food is cooked it must be cooled from 60ºC to 21ºC
designed to achieve a 6 log10 reduction in the concentration
in two hours and then from 21ºC to below 5ºC in a further
of Listeria monocytogenes and must only be applied to foods
four hours.
that:
–– are served immediately after sous vide cooking; or If you don’t have access to equipment such as
–– are cooled quickly to 5°C or less after sous vide cooking, a blast chiller you can quickly cool sous vide
stored and used within 5 days. products using a slurry of half ice and half
water. If the ice melts, add more.
When using the Cook-Chill time and temperature
combination red meats and poultry must be held at a water See also - Additional food safety information for sous vide
bath temperature of 60°C or higher during the holding time. procedure, Chilled and frozen food storage and Reheating
prepared food.
SERVE 10.17 page 2 Food Control Plan – March 2017 Ministry for Primary Industries
Serve Safe
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SERVE 10.18 page 2 Food Control Plan – March 2017 Ministry for Primary Industries
Serve Safe Proving a cooking method for sous vide
This is what you must do if you regularly cook meat and 7. If you change the size of the cut, or try a new type of meat
poultry dishes using the sous vide method and don’t want to you will need to follow the above steps to establish a new
check the internal temperature each time you cook. process.
The Act requires that: 8. Once you have established a proven method you must make
• Food must be processed and handled in ways that minimise sure you and/or any staff using the proven method follow it
the contamination or deterioration of food. carefully. Each week you must check and record the time and
• There must be procedures in place that prevent, eliminate temperature combinations for your proven method. You can use
or reduce hazards during the production, processing and the Sous vide control sheet, your own control sheet or record
handling of food. system or a data logger.
• Food must be safe and suitable.
If your weekly check finds that the water bath temperature is not
The following process will enable you to demonstrate that a being met, or the internal food temperature is not high enough at
standard sous vide cooking procedure will properly cook the the start, during or at the end of the cook, then you must adjust
food each time it is cooked. your process. For example, cook at a higher temperature in the
table, or cook for longer
You must use the same equipment (i.e. water bath filled with
same amount of water), the same standard ingredients (type, If you don’t want to check the revised time and temperature
weight, size, thickness etc) and the same number of packs combination each time you cook you will need to follow the
in the water bath each time you sous vide. You must use a above steps to establish a new proven process.
calibrated thermometer for your temperature checks.
If your weekly checks demonstrate that you have established a
1. Follow the Cooking using the sous vide technique pages. stable process you can decrease the frequency of your check to
fortnightly.
2. Identify the key control points for your sous vide procedure.
This will include: Internal temperature and holding times
–– the required water bath temperature when you put your
Cook-Serve: Serve immediately Cook-Chill: Serve
food in,
or within 2 days of cooking. immediately or
–– the selected internal food temperature. See Internal Internal within 5 days of
temperatures and holding times table. food
cooking.
–– the length of time it will take your food to reach the required temp
°C All meats except Poultry Red meat and
internal temperature after it’s been put in the water bath
poultry Time Time poultry Time
(the come up time). (mins) (mins/hours)
(mins/hours)
–– the required holding time to safely cook your food once
it has reached the selected internal temperature.3. You 420 mins /
55
TEMPERATURE DANGER ZONE*
must check the thickest part of the food item with a probe 7 hrs
296 mins / Poultry If storing sous
thermometer to determine the time it has taken to reach the 56
4hrs 56 mins must not vide red meat
selected internal product temperature and the respective
be sous or poultry for
holding times. Check this temperature at the slowest 208 mins /
57 vide at longer than 2
heating point of the water bath. 3hrs 28mins
temps days do not cook
147 mins /
3. You must check the temperature of the thickest part of the 58 lower than at temperatures
2hrs 27mins
food item with a probe thermometer to determine the time it 60°C lower than 60°C
has taken to reach the selected internal food temperature (the 104 mins /
59
come up time), and ensure that the temperature is maintained 1hr 44mins
for the respective holding time. The come up time must be 60 73 mins / 56 mins 91mins /
less than 4 hours. Choose the food located at the slowest 1hr 13mins 1hr 31mins
heating point of the water bath. 61 52 mins 40 mins 63 mins /
1hr 3mins
4. You must repeat the cooking method in steps 1 - 3 above
for at least three separate batches. The come up time for your 62 36 mins 29 mins 44 mins
proven process will be the longest time recorded for the 3 63 26 mins 21 mins 30 mins
batches. You need to be confident that the selected internal 64 18 mins 15 mins 21 mins
food temperature will always be met at the end of the come up
65 13 mins 11 mins 15 mins
time.
66 9 mins 8 mins 10 mins
5. You must write down the results of each of your time and
67 7 mins 6 mins 7 mins
temperature checks in the Proving a cooking method for sous *Minimum time once product has reached this
vide table. temperature.
6. If there any problems you will need to repeat the above
process until you are again confident the required temperature
will be consistently achieved.
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SERVE 10.19 page 2 Food Control Plan – March 2017 Ministry for Primary Industries
Guidance Additional food safety information
for sous vide procedure
It is recommended that the food business follow this guidance can be done by using an automated stirrer for example. The
to help them meet the sous vide procedure. cold spots can significantly lower the water temperature.
• Plates or wire racks can be used to keep vacuum packed
The guidance material includes recommendations for
bags below the surface.
food businesses to follow to ensure food safety hazards
• Place the largest vacuum packed bag in the coolest part of the
are controlled. The guidance material should be used in
water bath to monitor the temperature of the batch. Once that
conjunction with the Cooking using the sous vide technique.
bag has been held for the required temperature and holding
1. Vacuum sealing time, then the entire batch will have been cooked.
• To test the vacuum seal submerge the vacuum pack food in • If the water bath level drops during a cook and the vacuum
water. Air bubbles or bloated bags indicate air is present. sealed foods rise to the water surface, add warm water
• Sous vide specific vacuum bags are single use, heat resistant at a temperature that is not less than the set water bath
and thaw resistant and thick enough to be resistant to temperature.
punctures from bones and sharp food edges.
4. Temperature measurements
• Resealable sandwich bags cannot draw a vacuum so are
• The internal temperature of the food you are cooking is
unable to achieve good contact between the food and water
checked because you will not be able to tell from the look and
bath, and they may not be as heat resistant, or thick enough
feel of the food whether it has been thoroughly cooked.
to resist punctures from sharp edges.
• The internal temperature of the food can be measured by
• Creases in the vacuum-sealed bags can reduce heat transfer
a needle temperature probe, inserted into a vacuum pouch
to the food and even heating.
through closed cell foam tape or thermocouple feed-through
• Once opened, do not reseal the vacuum bag. Exposing the
connector. Refer to insert below
food to air will introduce microbes which may affect the shelf
life or safety of the food. 5. Holding times and temperatures
• The holding times specified in the Internal Temperature and
2. Preparation
Holding Times table are the minimum holding time for the
• Making sure each vacuum bag contains foods of similar size
food. The food may be held longer if required.
and weight will achieve consistent cooking through a batch.
6. Cleaning and maintenance
3. Water bath
• The water bath can be cleaned with a water/vinegar solution at
• Do not overload the water bath, and if you have proven the
71°C for 25 minutes as required.
process, make sure you don’t add more packs than were used
• Routine maintenance will make sure that all components are
for proving the process.
in good working condition.
• Good water circulation will prevent cold spots forming. This
How to measure the internal product temperature without breaking the vacuum seal
1. Place some closed cell foam tape on the thickest part of the vacuum sealed food product.
2. Insert the needle temperature probe into the closed foam tape until the tip has reached the middle
of the food.
3. If the temperature reading is not at the required temperature, leave the probe in the food and place
the food back into the water bath.
4. Check if any juices have leaked from the vacuum sealed bag. If there are signs of leakage you must
remove the bag from the water bath.
If you want to cook sous vide in ways that aren’t described in this procedure you can. You will need to develop a procedure that
outlines your method and shows that your way is valid and have your procedure evaluated by a recognised evaluator. Refer to
Significant amendments on the Getting Started with the template page.
If you do want to develop your own procedure you may find the following references helpful
• Review of microbial pathogen inactivation relevant to sous vide cooking at temperatures below 55°C. Aug 2016
• Standardising D and Z values for cooking raw meat. March 2017
• Guidelines for restaurant sous vide cooking safety in British Columbia. Jan 2016
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