Food Safety, Hygiene and Kitchen Sanitation (HACCP)
This domain tests numbers and control points: temperatures, holding times, sample retention, and the seven HACCP principles applied to a working Chinese kitchen.
Numbers to know cold
冷藏 0–4 °C; 冷冻 at or below −18 °C; danger zone 5–60 °C; cooked food centre temperature at least 70 °C (74 °C is the practical target for poultry); 留样 125 g per dish at 0–4 °C for 48 hours; two-stage cooling of 60 → 21 °C within 2 hours and 21 → 5 °C within 4 hours.
HACCP in seven steps
Hazard analysis; determine CCPs; set critical limits; monitor; specify corrective action; verify; keep records.
Where the CCPs sit
- 白切鸡: cooking is the CCP, limit 74 °C centre, then immediate 冰水 chill to 0–4 °C within 2 hours.
- 凉菜间: dedicated room, dedicated tools, dedicated refrigeration, UV disinfection, ambient temperature at or below 25 °C.
- High-risk items: 四季豆 (皂苷 - must be cooked through), 豆浆 (boil a further 5 minutes after 假沸), 鲜黄花菜 (秋水仙碱), raw shellfish, 河豚 (approved farms and qualified chefs only).
Worked example
Banquet 留样. Each dish is sampled at 125 g into a sterile, sealed container, labelled with dish name, time and batch, and held at 0–4 °C for 48 hours. If a container is short-weighted or unlabelled, the corrective action and the verification signature must be written into the log the same service - an undocumented sample is treated as no sample.
Traps that cost marks
- Cutting boards without a colour code; keep raw meat, produce, seafood and cooked food separate.
- Thawing on a bench at room temperature instead of in 冷藏 or under running water.
- Overloading a fridge so air cannot circulate and the top shelf reads warm.
- Assuming 刺身-grade fish removes the need for a CCP.