Food safety at a glance: temperatures and times
The temperatures and times a host needs on one page: the danger zone, the two-hour and one-hour rules, holding hot and cold, cooking and reheating, thawing and carrying food, each with its source.
The figures below are the federal consumer guidance for people cooking at home and for groups: USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Feeding a crowd explains how a buffet keeps to them, and A dinner party fits them into a cooking timeline. Print this page and tape it inside a cupboard door for the day.
| What | The figure | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The danger zone | 40°F to 140°F | Bacteria grow fastest in this range. Keep perishable food out of it: hot food hot, cold food cold. | FSIS: Danger Zone |
| Time out of refrigeration | 2 hours at most | Perishable food left out longer is discarded. Start the clock when the food leaves the oven, the refrigerator or the cooler. | FSIS: Danger Zone |
| Time out above 90°F | 1 hour at most | An outdoor party in summer heat halves the time. Check the forecast the week of and the thermometer on the day. | FSIS: Danger Zone; FSIS: Leftovers |
| Foods outside the 2-hour rule | Cookies, crackers, bread, whole fruit | These can stay out longer. Cut fruit, dips, salads and anything with meat, eggs or dairy cannot. | FSIS: Take-Out Foods |
| Holding hot food | 140°F or above | Chafing dishes, preheated warming trays, slow cookers or a preheated oven. Just keeping food warm is not enough; check the label, since some warmers hold only 110 to 120°F. | FSIS: Take-Out Foods; FDA: Serving Up Safe Buffets |
| Back-up hot dishes | An oven at 200 to 250°F | Keep the next platter in the oven and swap it in; do not top up the dish on the table. | FDA: Serving Up Safe Buffets |
| Keeping a cooked meal hot for later | About 2 hours | FSIS says it is not a good idea to keep food hot longer than 2 hours. If the meal is much later, refrigerate it in pieces in shallow containers and reheat it to 165°F. | FSIS: Handling Cooked Dinners |
| Holding cold food | 40°F or below | Nest dishes in bowls of ice, or use small platters and replace them often. Drain the water and add ice. | FSIS: Danger Zone; FSIS: Leftovers |
| Serving platters | Small, replaced | Replace an empty or nearly empty dish with a fresh one rather than adding food to it. | FDA: Serving Up Safe Buffets; FSIS: Cooking for Groups |
| Poultry, including ground poultry and stuffing | 165°F | Check with a food thermometer in the thickest part. | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures |
| Ground beef, pork, veal and lamb | 160°F | Burgers and meatballs included. | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures |
| Beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops and roasts; fresh ham | 145°F, then rest 3 minutes | The rest is part of the cooking. | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures |
| Fish and shellfish | 145°F | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures | |
| Egg dishes | 160°F | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures | |
| Leftovers and casseroles | 165°F | Reheat to 165°F. Bring sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil. | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures; FSIS: Leftovers |
| Fully cooked ham | 140°F, or 165°F | 140°F if packaged in a USDA-inspected plant; otherwise 165°F. | FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures |
| Oven for roasting meat and poultry | 325°F or higher | Do not partly cook meat to finish later; cook it through in one go. | FSIS: Danger Zone; FSIS: Cooking for Groups |
| Cooling leftovers | Into the refrigerator within 2 hours | Divide into shallow containers. Slice roasts; cut a turkey into smaller pieces. Hot food can go straight into the refrigerator. | FSIS: Leftovers |
| Keeping leftovers | 3 to 4 days refrigerated | Or 3 to 4 months frozen, for quality; frozen food stays safe longer. | FSIS: Leftovers |
| Thawing in the refrigerator | 24 hours per 4 to 5 lb of turkey | A 20-pound turkey takes 4 to 5 days. Counter thawing is not safe after 2 hours. | FSIS: Safe Thawing |
| Thawing in cold water | 30 minutes per lb | Change the water every 30 minutes; cook right away. | FSIS: Safe Thawing |
| Carrying cold food | 40°F or below in the cooler | Several inches of ice or gel packs and an appliance thermometer inside; keep the cooler in the shade. | FSIS: Tailgating Q&A; FSIS: Cooking for Groups |
| Carrying hot food | 140°F or above | Wrap well in an insulated container. If it cannot stay hot on the drive, chill it, carry it cold and reheat it to 165°F. | FSIS: Tailgating Q&A; FSIS: Cooking for Groups |
| Slow cookers | Not for reheating | Reheat leftovers to 165°F on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven, then hold at 140°F in a preheated slow cooker. | FSIS: Slow Cookers |
Consumer guidance and the Food Code
A restaurant, a caterer or a health-department-permitted food stand works to the FDA Food Code, which a state or county adopts. The University of Minnesota Extension's crowd-cooking pages use its figures: cold at 41°F or below and hot at 135°F or above (UMN's Cooking safely for a crowd). The consumer figures above (40°F and 140°F) are a little stricter at each end. FSIS's Cooking for Groups booklet says it does not reflect the Food Code or a state's code, and that food service staff follow their health department. If your event sells food or serves it to the public, ask the health department which figures apply.
These are the federal consumer figures for hosts. A county health department sets the rules for food sold or served to the public, and a guest with an allergy or a condition has needs these figures do not cover. A food thermometer, not the look or smell of food, tells you whether it reached the temperature.