3 replies to this topic

[suhaibalbadawi97]

Dear IFSQN Memmbers

I have a question regarding food safety protocols:
​The 2-Hour / 4-Hour Rule are the clear role for dealing with food in denjer zoon
​Frozen Food Standards: Is there a specific rule like 2-Hour / 4-Hour Rule for frozen Chicken items? Specifically, is it acceptable to receive a frozen chicken delivery at -15°C or more ?
​What are the international regulations or standards that govern these temperature deviations?

Thanks

[BigGaz1982]

You would need to look at the regulations for the country being delivered into.

 

For example, frozen chicken sent from Poland will need to meet the standards of Poland but also the standards of the UK. When it comes to the intake of frozen chicken in the UK.

 

When it comes to the tolerance of 3c in the UK (-15c on intake) this falls under the local delivery network and is for short periods. In terms of international deliveries, this essentially means the part of the delivery where this is getting to the end retailer. For Business to Business (B2B) this would be much stricter. Retail display units can have a 6c tolerance.

 

The -18 is for Quick Frozen foodstuffs though, other items are fine at -12c.

 

The hard and fast rules will come from customer requirements, and always food safety, The British Frozen Food Federation have a Golden Rules Book worth a read. You can find that HERE

[EvenKeel]

The 2-hour , 4-hour rule applies to chilled food in the danger zone, not frozen products. For frozen poultry, most standards (Codex, EU, FDA guidance) expect delivery at -18 °C or colder. A delivery at -15 °C is usually considered a minor deviation, not an automatic rejection, as long as the product is still fully frozen, packaging is intact, and corrective actions are documented. 

[GMO]

It's an interesting question to ask.

 

Where does -18oC come from?  Do you know?

 

It's 0F.

 

That's why (or as close a full number to it as possible, 0F is actually about -17.8oC). There is no food safety basis for it.

 

In the UK one of the retailers was trialling -15oC as a storage temperature for a while (they've not announced if they've fully adopted it). But unlike chill temperatures when you start to REALLY dig into frozen temperatures it's not as cut and dried as you think.