Danger zone

The danger zone is the temperature range in which food-borne bacteria can grow. Food safety agencies, such as the United States' Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), define the danger zone as roughly 4 to 60 °C. The FSIS stipulates that potentially hazardous food should not be stored at temperatures in this range in order to prevent foodborne illness and that food that remains in this zone for more than two hours should not be consumed. Foodborne microorganisms grow much faster in the middle of the zone, at temperatures between 21 and 47 °C. In the UK and NI, the Danger Zone is defined as 8 to 63 °C.