Cooling log for a restaurant: the two-stage rule and how to fill it in

A cooling log records that cooked food went from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, and from 70°F to 41°F within 4 more hours, 6 hours in total, as the FDA Food Code requires. Each row needs the food, the start time and temperature, a reading at 2 hours, a reading at 6 hours, who took them, and what you did if a mark was missed. This page shows the rule, a filled-in sheet, ways to cool fast in a small kitchen, and what to do when the food is late.

If you only need a blank to print, the free sheets are on the logs page. Read on for how to use it so the entries hold up when an inspector reads them.

Why cooling needs its own log

Cooling is the step where most kitchens lose control without noticing. A pot of soup, a tray of rice or a braise does not stay at 135°F while you are busy. It drifts down through the range between 135°F and 41°F, where bacteria multiply fastest, and a deep pot can sit in that range for many hours because the middle loses heat slowly. Spores that survive cooking, such as Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus, grow in exactly this window [1].

That is why the Food Code treats cooling as a control point and not a habit. Holding logs show that food stayed hot or cold. A cooling log shows the food got from one to the other in time. Without it, "we cool it overnight" is only a claim.

The two-stage rule

The Food Code gives cooked TCS food (time/temperature control for safety food) two time limits [1]:

The first two hours matter most because bacteria grow fastest between 125°F and 70°F. If the food has not reached 70°F at the two-hour mark, it has failed stage 1 no matter how well it does afterward.

Foods made from room-temperature ingredients, such as tuna salad built from canned tuna and mayonnaise, do not start at 135°F. The Food Code says these must be cooled to 41°F within 4 hours of being prepared [1]. Check how your health department words it; some jurisdictions have older or stricter rules for the first stage.

What the log needs to show

Keep the columns short enough that a cook fills them in with a wet thumb at 10 p.m.

1. Date and food. "Chicken soup, 12 qt" is better than "soup".
2. Start time and temperature. Probe the middle of the food when cooling begins. This should be 135°F or higher unless the food was cooked and held lower.
3. Method. Ice bath, shallow pans, blast chiller, ice wand. One word.
4. 2-hour reading. Time and temperature. Must be 70°F or below.
5. 6-hour reading. Time and temperature. Must be 41°F or below.
6. Initials on each reading.
7. Corrective action if either mark failed.

Here are three rows as they might look at the end of a Tuesday:

The third row is the one that earns trust. A failure written down with its action shows the control works. A sheet with every box perfect for a year looks invented.

How to cool food fast enough

The method decides whether you pass. Depth and surface area matter more than the fridge.

• Shallow pans. The Food Code says cooling food in containers with a depth of 4 inches or less helps it cool through; 2 inches is faster and the common target for dense food such as rice, beans and chili [1].
• Ice bath. Set the pot or pans in a sink or tub of ice and water, with the water level matching the food level. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes. Ice alone without water leaves air gaps.
• Ice wand or ice paddle. A sealed, reusable paddle you freeze and stir in. It cools the middle of a deep pot, where an ice bath on the outside is slowest.
• Add ice as an ingredient. For soups and stocks you can make a concentrated batch and finish with ice or cold water, as long as the recipe allows it.
• Cut it up. A roast or a turkey breast cools far faster in pieces or slices than whole.
• Blast chiller. If you have one, it is the easiest way to cool: load it, set it and log the cycle. Still probe the food; do not trust the display.
• Do not put a deep, covered, hot pot straight into the walk-in. It raises the temperature of the whole unit and cools in the middle for many hours.

Leave food uncovered or loosely covered until it reaches 41°F so heat can leave, then cover, label and date it.

When a mark is missed

Stage 1 failure is the one with the fewest options. A written corrective action keeps staff from deciding on the fly at 11 p.m.

1. Missed 70°F at 2 hours. The Food Code's advice is to reheat the food to 165°F for 15 seconds and start the cooling over, or discard it [1]. Many kitchens choose to discard, since reheating thick food to 165°F in the middle takes time and a second cooling start may fail again. Write which you did.
2. Reached 70°F but not 41°F by hour 6. Discard, or reheat to 165°F and restart if your health department allows it. Write which.
3. Do not hold the failing batch "to see". Food that is late stays late.
4. Find the cause. Pot too deep? Ice melted? Pans stacked so air could not move? Write it on the row so the next batch changes.

The same log covers reheating: cooked food that was cooled and is being reheated for hot holding has to reach 165°F within 2 hours [1]. If your kitchen cools and reheats a lot, one extra column for the reheat temperature saves a second sheet.

Foods that fail most often

• Rice and pasta. Dense and starchy, they hold heat. Spread on sheet pans, not in a hotel pan 6 inches deep.
• Stocks, soups and chili. Large volumes. Divide before cooling, not after.
• Braises and pulled meat. Shred or pull apart in shallow pans. A whole pot of braise is one of the slowest things in the kitchen.
• Beans and refried beans. Thick, dense, retain heat; stir while cooling.
• Cooked vegetables in a deep pan. Seem harmless; they are not.
• Sauces, gravies and cheese sauce. The skin that forms traps heat; stir.

How often to check and how long to keep the log

Two readings per batch are the minimum the rule needs: 2 hours and 6 hours. Add a one-hour check for large, dense batches. It lets you act before stage 1 fails, not after. Keep the log with your other temperature records. The Food Code asks for records kept at least 90 days where a HACCP plan is required, and many health departments or auditors want a year or more; ask yours [1]. If you are writing the plan, cooling is a standard control point; the critical control points guide shows the limit, monitoring and corrective action as plan rows.

The rest of your temperature records are covered in the temperature log sheet guide, and the cold side of the same job, once the food is at 41°F, is in cold holding temperature.

Questions

What is the cooling rule for cooked food?

135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then 70°F to 41°F within 4 more hours, so 6 hours total.

Do I need a cooling log if I only make a few soups?

If you cool cooked TCS food to use later, yes, though a short one. The inspector asks how you cool, and a few rows answer it.

Can I put hot food straight into the walk-in?

Not a deep pot of it. Shallow pans or an ice bath first, then the walk-in.

Do I have to cool in a certain container?

No specific type, but the depth matters. Four inches or less; two for dense food.

What if I cool food overnight on the counter?

That fails the rule. The food spends hours in the danger zone and the log cannot show otherwise. Use ice, shallow pans or throw it out.

Is cooling a CCP?

In most restaurant HACCP plans, yes. It has a limit, a way to monitor, a corrective action and a record.

Where do I get a cooling log?

The free sheets on our logs page have one, or use the columns above on any sheet.

Sources

1. FDA Food Code 2022 (3-501.14 cooling, 3-403.11 reheating, 8-201 records), U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. Keep food safe: the danger zone, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
3. About Clostridium perfringens, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Related: all food safety guides.