United States
Hong KongDate marking: seven days, and how to count them
Ready-to-eat TCS food held for more than 24 hours must be marked with a discard date. Seven days at 5°C (41°F) or below, counting the day of preparation as day one. Held colder does not extend it; the seven days are fixed.
Seven days. The day you make it is day one, so food prepared on the first of the month is discarded at the end of the seventh.
Almost everyone counts from day zero the first time and gets an eight-day answer. It is a one-line correction that is worth making now rather than in the exam.
What gets marked
Ready-to-eat TCS food held for more than 24 hours. Three conditions, all of which have to hold.
- Ready-to-eat - it will not be cooked again before serving.
- TCS - it supports pathogen growth.
- More than 24 hours - something made and used the same day needs no mark.
So deli meat opened from its packaging is marked. Raw chicken is not, because it is not ready to eat. Dry pasta is not, because it is not TCS.
Why Listeria
Most pathogens stop growing in a cold cooler. Listeria monocytogenes does not - it grows slowly at refrigeration temperature, so time becomes the control rather than temperature.
That is the reason for the whole provision, and it explains why holding food colder does not buy more days. The seven are fixed.
Combining foods
When you combine two marked foods, the resulting dish carries the earliest date of its ingredients.
Chicken made Monday, mayonnaise-based dressing made Wednesday, chicken salad made Wednesday - the salad is discarded on the chicken's seventh day, not the salad's. The clock does not restart because you made something new.
Freezing pauses the clock; it does not reset it. Food marked and frozen on day three resumes at day three when it is thawed, with four days left. A question offering seven fresh days after thawing is testing exactly this.
What is exempt
Hard and semi-soft cheeses, cultured dairy such as yoghurt and sour cream, preserved fish, shelf-stable dry sausages, and commercially processed food still in its unopened original container. Once you open it, the clock starts.
How the mark should look
The Code cares that the date is identifiable, not about a particular format. In practice a discard date is safer than a preparation date, because it removes the arithmetic from the person reading the label at seven on a Saturday.
Two things inspectors find constantly: undated food, and food with a date that nobody is acting on. The second is worse, because it demonstrates that the system exists on paper only.
Common questions
How long can ready-to-eat food be held?
Seven days at 5°C (41°F) or below, counting the day of preparation as day one. Food prepared on the first is discarded at the end of the seventh.
Does the day of preparation count as day one?
Yes. This is the most common arithmetic error on the topic - counting from day zero produces an eight-day answer, and the exam includes it as an option.
What date does a combined food carry?
The earliest date of any of its marked ingredients. Making a new dish does not restart the clock, so chicken salad made from Monday chicken is discarded on the chicken's seventh day.
Does freezing reset the seven days?
No, it pauses them. Food marked and frozen on day three resumes at day three when thawed, leaving four days. Freezing stops growth, it does not undo the time already elapsed.
Which foods are exempt from date marking?
Hard and semi-soft cheeses, cultured dairy such as yoghurt and sour cream, preserved fish, shelf-stable dry sausages, and commercially processed food in an unopened original container.