What's a good holding temperature?

Author: Dan Stark  |  Last update: Saturday, September 20, 2025

Hot holding food Maintain hot food at 135°F or above.

What are safe holding temperatures?

You must hold cold food at the bottom of the temperature danger zone — 41ºF (5ºC) or lower (1). Hold hot foods at 135ºF (57ºC) or higher and cold foods at 41ºF (5ºC) or lower.

Can I hold food at 150 degrees?

As long as it's above 140 you should be okay. So at 150 you shouldn't have an issue. If you let it fall below 140 it has to go above 160 before being held at 150 again. Restaurants hold food safely all day, you'll be fine if you didn't let it get too cool.

What is an inappropriate holding temperature?

Harmful bacteria and viruses thrive in what's known as the "danger zone"—between 41°F and 135°F. If food is left in this temperature range for too long, it can become a breeding ground for these dangerous microbes.

What is the ideal hot holding?

Hot food must be kept at 63°C or above, except for certain exceptions. When you display hot food, e.g. on a buffet, you should use suitable hot holding equipment to keep it above 63°C. If this is not possible, you can take food out of hot holding to display it for up to two hours, but you can only do this once.

Module 12 — Food Holding Temperature

What is the maximum hot holding?

The correct hot holding temperature is 135°F or above. Time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods (aka potentially hazardous foods or PHF) that have been cooked and cooled must be reheated within 2 hours to at least 165°F for 15 seconds before hot holding (see Reheating Foods).

What is good at holding heat?

After silver, copper is one of the best conductors of heat with the second-highest thermal conductivity. Copper can absorb heat quickly and hold it longer than other metals.

What is the 4 hour rule for food?

Explaining the 2-hour / 4-hour rule

Put simply the rule is: Under 2 hours = Good to use or you can refrigerate at 5°C or less. 2 to 4 hours = This timeframe means the food is okay to use. Over 4 hours = Throw your food away immediately.

What temperature is not OK?

The average normal body temperature is generally accepted as 98.6°F (37°C). Some studies have shown that the "normal" body temperature can have a wide range, from 97°F (36.1°C) to 99°F (37.2°C). A temperature over 100.4°F (38°C) most often means you have a fever caused by an infection or illness.

What is the maximum cold holding temperature allowed for telling me?

Hold cold foods at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or less and check the temperature every four hours. If the temperature of the food at four hours is greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit, the food must be discarded.

What is the FDA hot holding temperature?

Hot foods should be kept at an internal temperature of 140 °F or warmer. Use a food thermometer to check. Serve or keep food hot in chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays.

How long can you hold hot food at 135?

The USDA did issue an advisory that “A minimum temperature of 135 degrees for a maximum of 8 hours, or a minimum temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit indefinitely also would be adequate to ensure food safety.”

Is 170 a good temperature to keep food warm?

If your oven doesn't include a “keep warm” preset, aim to manually set the temperature somewhere between 170°F and 200°F to help keep food in a safe range.

What is the safe temperature for OSHA?

Air treatment is defined under the engineering recommendations as, "the removal of air contaminants and/or the control of room temperature and humidity." OSHA recommends temperature control in the range of 68-76° F and humidity control in the range of 20%-60%.

What is the 40 140 rule?

Keep Food Out of the "Danger Zone"

If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour. Keep hot food hot—at or above 140 °F. Place cooked food in chafing dishes, preheated steam tables, warming trays, and/or slow cookers. Keep cold food cold—at or below 40 °F.

What foods are cooked at 135?

Minimum internal temperature of 135℉ (57℃) applies to: Commercially processed, ready-to-eat-food that will be hot-held for service (cheese sticks, deep-fried vegetables). Fruit, vegetables, grains (rice, pasta), and legumes (beans, refried beans) that will be hot-held for service.

What is an unsafe temperature?

Untreated fevers above 105.8 degrees F (41 degrees C) can be dangerous.

How to reduce body heat immediately?

Applying cold water or ice to strategic points on the body where the veins are close to the surface — such as the wrists, neck, chest, and temples — can quickly lower the temperature of the blood running through these veins. This allows the body to feel cooler.

What is the temperature for sepsis?

Although most symptoms are not specific for sepsis, there are several warning signs that may signal the presence of sepsis: High body temperature (fever above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) or low body temperature (below 96.5 degrees Fahrenheit ) High heart rate, even when fever comes down.

What is the 2 2 2 food rule?

Food-borne illnesses can be nasty in the best of cases and fatal in the worst, so to keep you and your loved ones healthy, remember the 2-2-2 rule: two hours to get cooked food into the fridge, two days to eat leftovers before freezing, and two months in the freezer.

How warm can a fridge be and still be safe?

The temperature in a refrigerator should be 40 °F or below throughout the unit, so that any place is safe for storage of any food. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be in a sealed container or wrapped securely to prevent raw juices from contaminating other foods.

Can I eat a sandwich left out overnight?

(2) can keep the sandwich out of temperature control (refrigeration) for up to 4 hours straight- until 4 pm- then you need to throw it away. dried fruit, salted dried meats, hard cheeses, dried pasta and other dried foods, breads, unopened canned and bottled food, spreads and sauces such as tomato and soy sauce.

What temperature is safe to hold?

Maintain hot food at 135°F or above. Properly cooked roasts may be held at 130°F or above. Food made in-house and reheated for hot holding must reach an internal temperature of at least 165°F for 15 seconds.

What color absorbs heat?

Black or dark colored materials and objects radiate (give off) and absorb heat the fastest. The reason for this is that lighter colors reflect more light. Instead of thinking of dark colors as absorbers of heat, darker colors are actually better absorbers of light. Darker colors absorb more light.

Is water good at holding heat?

Water has a high specific heat capacity—it absorbs a lot of heat before it begins to get hot. You may not know how that affects you, but the specific heat of water has a huge role to play in the Earth's climate and helps determine the habitability of many places around the globe.

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