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Egg salad sandwiches are served at an offsite location without temperature control. The sandwiches are removed from cold holding at 11 a.m. The temperature of the egg salad is checked and found to be 55°F. At 3 p.m., the egg salad has reached 65°F. At 4 p.m., the egg salad has reached 71°F. At 5 p.m., the egg salad has reached 80°F.

At what temperature should the egg salad be thrown out?

Answer :

Final answer:

Food like egg salad should not be in the 'Danger Zone' of 40°F to 140°F for more than two hours to prevent bacterial growth. Given the described rise in temperature, the egg salad would likely have reached this range before 1 PM, at which point it should be thrown out.

Explanation:

The temperature at which food should be thrown out depends on proper food safety guidelines. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), potentially hazardous food like egg salad should not be kept in the 'Danger Zone' (40°F to 140°F) for more than two hours. After this time, there is a significant risk of bacterial growth that could lead to foodborne illnesses.

Here, the egg salad was taken out at 11 AM and by 1 PM, it would have been in the 'Danger Zone' for two hours. Given that the temperatures are measured to be continually rising through the day, it's highly likely that the egg salad entered the 'Danger Zone' way before 1 pm. This implies immediacy in the need to discard the egg salad after 1 pm.

Final answer in two lines

The egg salad becomes unsafe and should be thrown out once it has been in the 'Danger Zone' for two hours. Given the temperature rise in this case, that would be at 1 PM.

Learn more about Food temperature safety here:

https://brainly.com/question/33043370

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