A food worker takes three hours to reheat a pot of soup for a buffet to 165°F (74°C). What must she do next? A. Throw the soup out B. Place the soup on a hot plate C. Display the soup on the buffet D. Divide the soup into smaller containers
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: A. Throw the soup out
Explanation:
According to the FDA Food Code and food safety guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hot food must be reheated to 165°F (74°C) within two hours in order to be safe for consumption. If it takes longer than that—as in this case, three hours—the food is no longer considered safe and must be discarded.
Here’s why: Bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus, which are common in cooked foods, can multiply rapidly when food is in the temperature danger zone (40°F–140°F or 4°C–60°C). Reheating food too slowly allows these bacteria to grow and potentially produce toxins that reheating cannot destroy. Once the two-hour reheating window has passed, there’s a significant risk that the soup has spent too much time in this danger zone, making it unsafe to serve.
Let’s review the other options:
- B. Place the soup on a hot plate – Incorrect. A hot plate is used to maintain food temperature after it has been safely reheated. In this case, the soup was not reheated properly, so maintaining its temperature is irrelevant and unsafe.
- C. Display the soup on the buffet – Incorrect. Serving improperly reheated soup to customers would pose a serious food safety hazard.
- D. Divide the soup into smaller containers – Incorrect, but often a good preventive step. Dividing food into smaller portions can help it heat more quickly, but this must be done before or during the reheating process—not after the three-hour period has passed.
In summary, because the soup was not reheated within the required timeframe, the only safe option is to throw it out.
