Hello guys.
Can critical limit defined as range value ? For example, critical limit for cooking temperature of poultry established as a range of 165°F to 170°F ?
It is correct ? Or should I established critical limit of cooking temperature at minimum at 165°F ?
Hi hafidznf14,
Welcome to the IFSQN forums.
USDA FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart doesn’t stipulate a temperature range, only minimum temperatures.
All Poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, and stuffing) should be cooked to a 165 °F (73.9 °C) minimum internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer before removing food from the heat source.
(Also note that steaks, chops and roasts have an additional criteria of resting for 3 minutes).
CODEX Definition of Critical limit:
A criterion, observable or measurable, relating to a control measure at a CCP which separates acceptability from unacceptability of the food.
Therefore, in some circumstances a range may be acceptable but I don’t believe I have ever seen a temperature range quoted for a critical limit for cooking. There are variations in time/temperature combinations for pasteurisation though, for example 71.7 °C for 15 seconds/63 °C for 30 minutes.
Also, I do see ranges for refrigerated products, say 1 - 5 °C but the lower limit is to preserve product quality by preventing freezing.
Another example where I could see a range for a critical limit might be chlorination of water or disinfection where you want to have a minimum ppm to kill any pathogens present but a maximum ppm level to prevent contamination of the product with excessive Chlorine. In this case though the upper critical limit is to prevent a different hazard, a chemical hazard.
Kind regards,
Tony