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    It's also a good idea to keep a thermometer in your fridge. They typically don't have built-in temperature readings, and you may be inadvertently endangering yourself and your guests. The appropriate temperatures are discussed here: cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/12013/… Commented Jun 14, 2013 at 4:35
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    I strongly disagree on dairy. In many European countries cheeses are sold at room temperature and are absolutely fine to eat, and you can definitely keep it out of the fridge for more than two hours with no issue whatsoever. Preserved meat (salami, ham and in general Charcuterie) can be kept in a cool place outside of the fridge for months with no problem. In summary, you cannot generalize. Commented Jun 14, 2013 at 6:24
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    @Steve absolutely! My fridge went on the blink last month, but it didn't stop working it just sneakily got warmer. Our first clue was milk kept spoiling. I now own two fridge thermometers, for fridge and freezer. ~$5 each, well worth it. Commented Oct 15, 2013 at 20:27
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    Perhaps this answer should be clarified to point out that the "danger zone" applies to the food's temperature and not to the ambient temp around the food. For instance, if you set some frozen meat out to defrost at room temperature, it hasn't gone bad after sitting for two hours. It's probably still frozen solid at that point. The "danger zone" timer is only ticking when the food's internal temperature is between 40 and 140°F. Similarly, putting warm food in a fridge/freezer doesn't immediately stop the clock, as it takes some time for the food's internal temperature to drop. Commented Sep 12, 2015 at 12:30
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    Rules like this are devoted to big distribution, food industry, public restaurants etc. That a bowl soup is dangerous after a couple of hours in my kitchen is ridiculous. They are kinda laws and have regulatory purpose. It is not a kitchen book. Still the answer is good as for it provides guidelines. But it should be taken with one, even two, grains of salt. Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 8:52