What are the hot and cold holding temperatures?

How often should you check held food?

• Check with a calibrated probe thermometer, never by look or touch.
• On a serving line or at an event, check and log temperatures every hour.
• Keep a thermometer inside every fridge and cooler.
• Set cold dishes in ice up to the food level.
• Steam tables, chafing dishes and slow cookers only hold food that is already hot. They don't reheat.

Sources: Source protocols: safe food handling (verify with a calibrated probe thermometer, never by look); holding checked and logged every hour · Food Code 4-203.11 · Food Code 3-403.11

What if it has been out of range?

• Hot food below 135°F for less than 2 hours: reheat to 165°F.
• Cold food above 41°F for less than 2 hours: chill it right away.
• Unknown time or longer: throw it out.
• Power outage: keep the doors shut. Throw out TCS food that was above 41°F for more than 4 hours.
• Log the reading and what you did.

Sources: Source protocols: corrective actions at critical control points · Source protocols: incident first steps (fridge, freezer or hot-hold out of range; water or power out)

Which foods need temperature control?

• Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk and dairy
• Cooked rice, pasta, beans, potatoes and vegetables
• Tofu and soy protein, sprouts
• Cut melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens
• Garlic-in-oil mixtures

Usually not TCS: bread, crackers, chips, hard cookies, whole uncut produce, unopened canned food.

Utah's rule calls TCS food "potentially hazardous food." Same thing.

Sources: Food Code 1-201.10(B) · R392-100-4(3)(a)(v) · Source protocols: TCS food guide

The rules behind it

• Hot and cold holding. Hot 135°F or above and cold 41°F or below, except a whole roast cooked on the roast chart (130°F or above, not on a food truck), raw shell eggs (the air around them 45°F or below) and food marked under time control (Food Code 3-501.19, 4 hours, not on a food truck). Food carried to an event is probed at loading and on arrival. Food Code 3-501.16, 3-501.19; R392-102-12(6)
• Whole roasts: cook chart and 130°F holding. Whole meat roasts reach a chart temperature and time (130°F for 112 minutes up to 145°F for 4 minutes, or 158°F instantly) in a preheated oven; roasts cooked this way may be hot-held at 130°F instead of 135°F. Food Code 3-401.11(B), 3-501.16(A)(1); docs/source/research/buffet-and-dinner-service.md · source
• Wash produce before cutting. Raw fruits and vegetables are washed in water before cutting, cooking or serving. Cut melons, cut leafy greens and cut tomatoes are TCS: hold at 41°F or below. Food Code 3-302.15(A), 3-302.11(A)(8), 1-201.10(B), 3-501.16(A)(2); Utah R392-100-4; docs/source/research/menu-items.md PW1-PW6 · source