Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2023 - 28

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS! CREATING A
FOOD SAFETY CULTURE
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4. Dice all of the vegetables except
garlic and spinach on a cleaned and
sanitized cutting board. Heat olive
oil in a large heavy bottom pot, add
diced vegetables, sprinkle with 1
tsp of salt, sauté on low until crisptender,
stirring often.
5. Mince garlic and add to the pan of
vegetables, cook for 1-2 additional
minutes.
6. On the same cutting board, slice the
Kielbasa on an angle, about ¼-inch
thick.
7. Add Kielbasa to the pan of vegetables
and brown on both sides. Wash
cutting board, counters, and
utensils after handling the
sausage. Wash hands with soap
and warm water.
8. Add the pepper, dry mustard, sage
and thyme, stir to combine, cook the
mixture on low until the vegetables
are soft and onions translucent.
9. Take ½ can of the white beans and
set aside. Add the remainder of the
white beans to the pot. With the
remaining ½ can of beans, place
them in a cleaned and sanitized
food processor, blend until smooth,
and set aside.
10. Next, add the chicken stock and
tomatoes. Raise the heat to medium
and bring to a simmer, stirring
often. Once the stew is bubbling, add
in the pureed beans and parmesan
cheese, lower the heat, stir in
spinach, and allow the mixture
to simmer on low about 10 to 15
minutes more.
11. Using a cleaned and sanitized
probe thermometer, check to
ensure the soup and internal
temperature of the Kielbasa is at
least 165˚F. Wash hands with soap
and warm water before serving.
12. Transfer stew to serving bowls
and sprinkle with grated parmesan
cheese.
If you have leftovers or if this soup was
prepared in advance for another day,
make sure you add cooling, labeling,
and even re-heating instructions to
the end of your recipe, as improperly
cooled foods or slow cooling of foods
is a significant factor in foodborne
illness. I can't tell you how many times
I have found food improperly cooling;
either sitting on top of the ice instead
of in it or lidded, stacked, and shelved
while still in the cooling process. If
you think ice paddles do the trick, they
don't. Ice paddles without some action
only cool the soup closest to the paddle.
Instructions to properly cool soup:
* Fill a large container or clean prep
sink with ice and a small amount of
water.
* Pour the kettle of soup into 2
aluminum or stainless-steel
containers and place them into the
ice bath. Make sure the container is
surrounded by ice.
* Stir the soup often, at least every 15
minutes, to release heat and aid in
cooling.
* Transfer uncovered or " tented " soup
to a safe section of a cooler, continue
to monitor, and stir occasionally.
* Once cooled to 41˚F, cover containers
and label with the prep or discard
date.
The cooling rule is to get the food from
135˚F to 70˚F within 2 hours, and then
from 70˚F to 41˚F in the next 4 hours.
The best way to facilitate cooling is
to use metal pans instead of plastic
containers. Why? Because metal is a
conductive material, which means that
it either heats up or cools faster than
plastic. Plastic is an insulator, meaning
that it is extremely slow to respond
to a change in the surrounding
temperature. Once your food is
properly cooled, you can transfer it to
a plastic container if you wish, snap on
the lid, label, date, and store.
SUMMING IT UP
Incorporating food safety instructions
in any recipe is important, but for
recipes that are going to reach large
numbers of immunocompromised
people-such as those at your
residential facility, assisted living or
nursing home-food safety instructions
can have a major impact on improving
your staff's food safety behaviors and
keeping everyone protected. E
KATHLEEN BRADY, CDM, CFPP, CP-FS | kdbrady013@gmail.com
Kathleen Brady is an Environmental Health Manager with the State of South Carolina's Department of Health
and Environmental Control. She has over 20 years of experience driving success as a team leader, training
manager, and consultant for nutrition and food safety programs. She will readily answer your food safety
concerns and encourages you to connect with her on Linkedin.
28 NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | MARCH-APRIL 2023

Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2023

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