Chicken salad sandwiches are served at an offsite location without temperature control. The sandwiches are removed from cold holding at 11 a.m.

- At 1 p.m., the temperature of the chicken salad is 55°F.
- At 3 p.m., the chicken salad has reached 71°F.
- At 5 p.m., the chicken salad has reached 80°F.

At what time should the chicken salad have been thrown out?

The chicken salad should have been thrown out by 3 p.m. when it had been out of the safe temperature range (40-140 degrees F) for more than two hours, posing a risk of bacterial growth.

Explanation:

The chicken salad sandwiches should have been thrown out after they exceeded the safe temperature range for more than two hours. According to food safety guidelines, perishable foods that remain within the temperature range of 4 to 60 degrees C (40 to 140 degrees F) for more than two hours should be discarded due to the risk of bacterial growth. Since the chicken salad was found to be at 55F at 1 p.m., it was already out of the safe temperature zone. By 3 p.m., it reached 71F, confirming that it was out of this zone for two hours, at which point it should have been thrown out.