Expert: Carol Schlitt - 1/20/2007

Question
I ate out for fish and ordered poorman's lobster the fish was almost cold and I was told after they make the fish they put it in the oven at a certain temp. 200 degrees and leave it in there until ordered and when ordered put hot butter over it to make it hot. My question is my fish was cold so it wasn't at that 200 degrees and all they did was heat it in the microwave is this safe after it was sitting for 5 hours. Thanks for your input

Answer
Hi Sabrina,

It's hard to believe that a restaurant would hold fish for 5 hours before service as fish is a delicate product that dries out and is difficult to hold with good quality.

However, most state food codes require that cook food be held about 140 degrees. As you know, holding food does not increase it's quality, but holding it at this temperature or above is considered safe. Holding fish in a 200 degree oven would keep the fish above 140 degrees and technically that would make it a safe product to serve.

You said though that your fish was cold.  This indicates to me that they were not holding it above 140 degrees before service. Fish is considered a potentially hazardous food. In other words, it is capable of supporting the growth of harmful bacteria when given the right conditions for growth. One of the right conditions is a temperature between 40 and 140 degrees. Since your fish was cold and you indicated it had been sitting for 5 hours, it appears that it has not been held properly and could be potentially unsafe.

All foods that are served hot should be served at 140 or hotter. If not, you should complain and demand hotter food. Of course, you can always call your local health department and lodge a complaint about the temperature of their food. This should cause them to make a surprise inspection to investigate their hot-holding practices.

I hope this answered your question. If you have further questions, please let me know.

Carol