An action the food worker must take next is to throw the soup out.
Food preservation is an art that typically involves the process of preventing food spoilage by mitigating or reducing the activities (growth) of microbial organisms and other external factors while maintaining the nutritional value, flavor and texture of a food.
Some of the common factors that result in food spoilage include the following:
A soup is an example of a time/temperature control for safety (TCS) foods because they are more susceptible to the growth of pathogens (microorganisms) such as yeast, molds, bacteria, etc.
For TCS foods, it is important that they are cooled from 135 Fahrenheit (°F) to 70 Fahrenheit (°F) within two (2) hours, else, it must be thrown out. Since this food worker took three (3) hours to reheat the pot of soup to 165°F (74°C), he or she must throw the soup out because it has exceeded the minimum time required for TCS foods.
Read more on food workers here: https://brainly.com/question/13596831