Australia Issues New Sous Vide Cooking Guidelines

Sous Vide is quickly becoming a cooking favourite in Australia. This method of cooking includes cooking at very low temperatures for extended amounts of time.To be cooked in this method, the food is cooked in a vacuum sealed plastic container.

However, there are quite a few different problems that could arise from cooking in the Sous Vide method if the proper guidelines are not followed. In order to protect people from food poisoning, the NSW Minister of Primary Industries has recently decided to release cooking guidelines for this method.

The Guidelines

Whether the person cooking in this method is a chef at a restaurant or a private citizen cooking for the family, it is important that the proper guidelines are followed for health and safety. The guidelines as released by the NSW government include the following:

• All foods should be prepared in thinner portions. This allows them to cook more quickly and avoid a chance of bacteria growth.
• The water bath used for cooking should be set exactly at 55 degrees.
• The food should never be cooked below 54.5 degrees Celsius and should be cooked for 6 hours.
• Food should be removed from cooking quickly and then cooled in ice so that it does not stay in the danger zone for too long.
• All equipment used for cooking sous vide should be accurate in temperature readings, and must be checked regularly.

Teaching the Proper Method

The government has also asked that all cooking schools strictly adhere to these guidelines and follow them carefully in order to ensure all upcoming chefs are cooking sous vide in the proper manner.

Sous vide is a cooking style that is gaining more and more attention in Australia. Because of this, the government has released these guidelines in order to ensure consumer safety when eating these foods.