How long is food allowed to be in the temperature danger zone when cooling?

When cooling food, it is crucial to ensure it does not stay in the temperature danger zone—defined as between 41°F (5°C) and 135°F (57°C)—for an extended period, as this is when bacteria can grow rapidly. The guideline states that food should not remain in this temperature range for more than 2 hours combined.

This time limit is designed to reduce the risk of foodborne illness by ensuring food cools to safe temperatures as quickly as possible. After 2 hours in the danger zone, the risk of bacterial growth becomes significant, and food safety protocols recommend further action to either chill the food more rapidly or ensure it is cooked or discarded if it cannot be brought to safe temperatures.

The other time frames presented, such as 1 hour, 4 hours, or 6 hours, do not align with these recommended safety practices, as they either provide too short a window for cooling (1 hour) or too long a duration (4 hours and 6 hours), which can potentially allow harmful bacteria to multiply to unsafe levels.