LOW TEMPERATURE CLAMSHELL COOKING AND STAGING GRILL APPARATUS FOR PATHOGENIC RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

摘要

An apparatus and low temperature process providing a means forensuring bacteriological safety in the fast food production ofhamburgers and other protein or farinaceous food articles. Thepresent invention is directed toward a method and apparatus fortransferring heat to food articles contained in sealed plastic foodcooking and staging containers, and is particularly adapted forcooking and/or holding previously cooked food articles quite nearto a selected precise internal temperature for prolonged timeperiods and can be employed to defrost and cook food articles or tocomplete the cooking of food articles that have been previouslycooked and to stage same for prolonged time periods at optimumproduct quality and at a precise internal product temperaturewithin the narrow equilibration range of from between 2°F and 5°F thereby assuring precision, time and temperature-related, meansfor pathogenic risk management and food safety for publicconsumption.The apparatus provides a means of holding the patties and/orother food articles in heat conducting containers, such asprecanned precooked food in bowl type containers or inhermetically sealed plastic packages, for prolonged the periods atan equilibrated, safe internal temperature range at less than212°F, selectable between 130 and 185°F for optimal staging, whichtemperature range is optional and maintained in order to guaranteebacteriological food safety by achieving high thermal lethality oftrace pathogens of as much as 99% at selected time and temperatureconditions for potential pathogens such as Salmonella andEscherichia coli potentially present in ground meat articles suchas beef or chicken patties.