If a chef has cooled a stew to 70°F in 30 minutes, how much more time is needed to cool it to 41°F?

When cooling foods, particularly large quantities like a stew, it’s important to follow the guidelines set by food safety standards to ensure the food passes through the temperature danger zone (between 41°F and 135°F) as quickly as possible to minimize the risk of bacterial growth.

The chef has already cooled the stew from its initial temperature down to 70°F in 30 minutes. The next step is to cool it further from 70°F to 41°F. According to food safety guidelines, the cooling process should ideally occur in two stages: the initial stage allows food to cool from 135°F to 70°F within the first two hours, and the second stage continues to cool from 70°F to 41°F within an additional four hours.

Since the stew has already reached 70°F, the cooling from 70°F to 41°F must happen within the remaining time dictated by these guidelines. From 70°F to 41°F, it typically requires an estimated four hours to cool the food safely. This means that an additional hour for each degree decrease may not be precise but follows a rough guideline that enables the food to stay safe as it cools further.

Therefore, the correct choice indicates that a total of 4 hours is