Many people think that once a food has been properly cooked, all diseasecausing organisms (pathogens) have been killed. This is not true. Some pathogenscan form heat-resistant spores, which can survive cooking temperatures. Whenthe food begins cooling down and enters the danger zone, these spores beginto grow and multiply. If the food spends too much time in the danger zone, thepathogens will increase in number to a point where the food will make peoplesick. That is why the cooling process is crucial. Cooked food must be cooledfrom 60°C to 20°C (140°F to 70°F) in two hours or less, AND then from 20°C to4°C (70°F to 40°F) in four hours or less.Neither will whole poultry. Even large pots (4 L/1 gal. or more) of soup, stews,gravy, etc., can take a day or more to cool to 4°C (40°F). However, you cancool these foods down quickly by using one or more of the following methodsdepending on the type of food being cooled: