Answer :
To ensure the safe cooling of the soup, food safety guidelines require that the temperature of the hot food be reduced in stages. Here is the reasoning:
1. Initially, the soup is cooled to
[tex]$$70^\circ F$$[/tex]
within the first 2 hours.
2. The guidelines then require that after the initial cooling period, the temperature must be lowered further to reach a safe final temperature within a total cooling time.
3. In this case, over the next 4 hours (making a total of 6 hours of cooling), the target is to bring the soup down to
[tex]$$41^\circ F.$$[/tex]
Thus, for the soup to be cooled safely, by the end of the next 4 hours the soup should reach a temperature of
[tex]$$41^\circ F.$$[/tex]
This corresponds to option (a).
1. Initially, the soup is cooled to
[tex]$$70^\circ F$$[/tex]
within the first 2 hours.
2. The guidelines then require that after the initial cooling period, the temperature must be lowered further to reach a safe final temperature within a total cooling time.
3. In this case, over the next 4 hours (making a total of 6 hours of cooling), the target is to bring the soup down to
[tex]$$41^\circ F.$$[/tex]
Thus, for the soup to be cooled safely, by the end of the next 4 hours the soup should reach a temperature of
[tex]$$41^\circ F.$$[/tex]
This corresponds to option (a).
