Food Safety Cooling Curve
Estimated 135->70 F and 70->41 F cooling time with FDA Food Code 2026 pass/fail.
Example
You enter
- Starting temp (F; confirms food is hot; cooling time shown is the FDA 135-to-70-to-41 window, not measured from this temp) 135
- Ambient temp (°F) 70
- Container full_pan_4in
- Product type thick_liquid
You get
- Phase 1 (135->70 F) 110 min - PASS (<=120)
- Phase 2 (70->41 F) 176 min - PASS (total <=360)
- Phase1 pass Yes
- Phase2 pass Yes
Checked against published worked examples from: FDA Food Code 2022 (project bundled time-to-temperature targets).
Details, formula, and sources
Formula or tableFDA Food Code 2026 §3-501.14 (unchanged from the 2022 edition): cooked TCS food must cool from 135 °F to 70 °F within 2 hours, and from 135 °F to 41 °F within a total of 6 hours, so the second stage gets whatever time the first left. The pass / fail flags are computed on the estimated stage times.
Source and editionFDA Food Code 2026 §3-501.14 (the 2022 edition's rule, unchanged).
Free accessFree at fda.gov (Food, Retail Food Protection, FDA Food Code).
What governsThe thermometer on the food is the verdict. Local health department governs.
API field namesstart_F, ambient_F, container, product_type, phase1_minutes, phase2_minutes, phase1_pass, phase2_pass
- TCS food true (Time/Temperature Control for Safety; non-TCS foods are not subject to §3-501.14)FDA Food Code 2026 §1-201.10 (definition unchanged from 2022)
- Container / depth / ambient user-supplied; deeper than 4 in or non-shallow pans materially extend cooling timeFDA Food Code 2026 Annex 3