If the food can stay in your pantry or cupboard, it is a ready to eat food. A huge tip is if you have to refrigerate the food, freeze, bake, cook, or fry the food, you can deem it as such. The huge thing to note is that foods can be both ready to eat and TCS foods.Īgain, think about your yogurt, deli meats and cheeses. It also includes cooked rice, beans, vegetables, sliced melons and cut tomatoes. You also need to include any uncooked poultry or meat. When you think of TCS foods, think of anything in the dairy section. Sliced watermelon is also another TCS food.
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TCS stands for time-temperature controlled for safety.Ī huge, huge tip here is that one of ServSafe’s favorite is sliced cantaloupe. TCS food, on the other hand is food that contains moisture and protein and has a slightly acidic pH. Think about any food that you can just grab and pop into your mouth. Ready to eat food, again, requires no further preparation, washing or cooking. Some people get confused when it comes to ready to eat food because this category also includes things like baked chicken, fried chicken, cooked hamburger meat, baked potatoes, and coleslaw. Granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, spices, yogurt, potato chips. Think about packaged cookies, crackers, canned meats, such as tuna or chicken, or our favorite, Spam, canned soups, canned vegetables, basically anything that is packaged.
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We are going to briefly discuss the difference between ready to eat food and TCS food.Ī ready to eat food is any food that is edible without further preparation, washing or cooking. What’s the difference between TCS and RTE (Ready to eat) food? Dry foods that can be stored at room temperature are not considered TCS foods. Dairy products, such as milk, sour cream, ice cream, and some cheeses, eggs, garlic in oil, some cut foods such as melons, tomatoes and leafy greens, and cooked rice, potatoes, beans, vegetables, and grains. Therefore, food handlers must always keep the temperature danger zone in mind when cooking, cooling, thawing or chilling foods.Ĭommon TCS foods include raw animal products such as beef, pork, fish, seafood, and poultry. The temperature danger zone is 41 degrees Fahrenheit to 135 degrees Fahrenheit.Īlso, when food is not cooked to the required temperature, bacteria and food persists, which may cause foodborne illness. Some of these bacteria can cause illness if the product is left in the danger zone or if the food is not properly cooked. This zone is the range of temperatures that allows bacteria to grow quickly in foods.
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When dealing with TCS foods, food handlers must understand the temperature danger zone. TCS foods that are expired or kept under unacceptable temperatures or past the allotted time must be discarded. Time, temperature control for safety foods or TCS foods are any foods that have a specific shelf life and must be kept under refrigeration for safety.