If TCS food cannot cool from 135°F to 70°F in 2 hours, what should you do?

When food that is Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) does not cool from 135°F to 70°F within the required 2 hours, immediate action should be taken to ensure food safety. The best course of action is to use the remaining time to cool it down to below 41°F. This is crucial because TCS foods are vulnerable to bacterial growth if they remain in the danger zone between 41°F and 135°F for too long.

Cooling TCS food properly is fundamental to food safety, as allowing it to stay at an unsafe temperature can promote the growth of harmful pathogens. By focusing on cooling the food efficiently and actively working to bring it under that safe threshold of 41°F, it significantly reduces the risk of foodborne illness.

Supporting the food with ice may assist in cooling but should be a part of a broader cooling strategy; simply beginning to heat it again would not address the cooling failure effectively; and keeping it at room temperature would further promote bacterial growth, which directly violates food safety standards. Therefore, striving to cool the food further to below 41°F within the remaining time is the recommended action to take.