The 6:45 a.m. Delivery in 88 °F Heat
Tuesday, 6:45 a.m., already 88 °F outside. One delivery truck arrives with four items: (1) a 40 lb case of ground beef, internal temperature 47 °F; (2) 30 dozen shell eggs, 53 °F at the shell; (3) a 20 lb box of frozen chicken thighs - several packages are pliable, there is frozen liquid in the bottom of the box and visible ice crystals on the product; (4) two 5-gallon totes of shucked oysters at 43 °F, tags attached. The driver says the reefer has been 'cycling' and offers a $150 credit if you accept everything. The walk-in currently holds, top shelf down: an open case of whole raw salmon, a pan of washed cut romaine, whole-muscle pork loins, and 30 lb of raw ground turkey.
1. Accept or reject each of the four items and state the standard you applied to each.
Read the worked answer
| Item | Reading | Decision | Standard applied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 47 °F | Reject | TCS food must be received at 41 °F or below. Ground beef is also a high-risk item (comminuted, high surface area). |
| Shell eggs | 53 °F | Reject | Shell eggs must be received at an ambient temperature of 45 °F or below and cooled to 41 °F. 53 °F is out of standard. |
| Frozen chicken thighs | pliable, ice crystals, frozen liquid | Reject | Frozen food must be received frozen solid - no evidence of thawing and refreezing. Ice crystals plus liquid in the box is the signature of a temperature-abused load. Refreezing concentrates the risk: you cannot tell how long it was above 0 °F. |
| Shucked oysters | 43 °F | Accept | Shucked shellfish may be received at 45 °F or below and must be cooled to 41 °F. Tags are attached and must be kept 90 days. |
On the $150 credit: price does not change a food-safety decision. A credit on product you must throw away is not a saving; it is a bribe to accept an out-of-compliance load. Reject, document the rejection on the invoice, photograph the readings, and notify the supplier in writing. Repeated failures are grounds to change suppliers.
Process points:
- Use a calibrated probe thermometer - check it in ice water (32 °F) before the delivery.
- Measure internal temperature of at least one package per lot, and check the warmest spot.
- Inspect before signing, in the receiving area, and move accepted product to storage immediately - do not leave oysters on the dock while you finish counting.
2. Is the walk-in shelving arrangement acceptable? Correct it.
Read the worked answer
No. The salmon is above the romaine. Raw fish drip onto ready-to-eat produce is a direct cross-contamination route, and the lettuce will not be cooked.
Governing principle: store by cooking temperature, raw below ready-to-eat, with the highest-risk raw products at the bottom.
The described order (top to bottom):
- whole raw salmon
- cut romaine ← RTE, must be above all raw animal food
- whole-muscle pork loins
- raw ground turkey
Corrected order, top to bottom:
- Ready-to-eat food - cut romaine, deli meat, cooked items, desserts
- Whole raw fish and seafood
- Whole cuts of raw beef and pork (whole-muscle, intact)
- Ground meat (including ground turkey and ground beef)
- Raw poultry - whole and ground chicken/turkey belong at the bottom, because poultry is cooked to the highest temperature (165 °F) and is the most common Salmonella/Campylobacter source
Other corrections to check:
- Nothing on the floor; 6 inches minimum clearance.
- Everything covered or wrapped; date-marked if prepared on site.
- Raw storage away from the door and away from produce.
- Separate the salmon from the romaine physically, not just by a shelf if the case is open and can drip sideways.
- Eggs belong in the walk-in, not on a dry-storage shelf.
3. What receiving records and practices must this operation have in place, and what should happen to the oysters once accepted?
Read the worked answer
At receiving:
- A calibrated probe thermometer, sanitized between products.
- Written receiving log: date, supplier, product, temperature, accept/reject, initials.
- Shellstock tags retained 90 days from the date the last shellfish from that lot is used; shucked shellfish containers retained 90 days after the container is emptied. Tags must be attached to the container until emptied, then kept on file.
- Check the truck itself: refrigeration running, load temp, no off-odors, no pest activity, clean boxes, no leaking packages, no evidence of thaw/refreeze.
- Schedule deliveries for early morning or cool parts of the day, and never leave product on the dock.
The oysters once accepted:
- Move to the walk-in immediately and cool to 41 °F or below.
- Store in the original container with the tag attached, on the correct shelf (seafood shelf - below RTE, above ground meat and poultry is optional but never above RTE).
- Date-mark if the container is opened.
- Do not store shucked oysters in their own liquor indefinitely as if that were a preservative - it is not a temperature substitute.
The systemic issue: an 88 °F delivery with a 'cycling' reefer and a credit offer is a supplier that is failing repeatedly. The CFPM should track rejection rates, escalate in writing, and be prepared to qualify a second supplier. One rejected delivery is an event; three is a supplier.