how long can hot food keep? and at what temp?

Question

say i purchase fast food, how much longer can i keep it at a heated temp and what is that temp?

Answer 1

For food safety, hot foods should be kept hot. How hot? 140F or higher.

However, it becomes a trade off, the hotter you keep it, the more the food cooks and dries out. I believe most restaurants shoot for 140 to 145F.

If you plan to eat it within a couple hours, I wouldn't worry about keeping it hot. Just microwave it if you want to warm it up.

Answer 2

The answer to this question is absolutely dependent on what type of food you are dealing with.
For example anything with eggs should be kept refrigerated and never ever at room temperature, while bread, cheese, fruit etc can stay out at room temps for hours or days without harm.
So without a specific type of food it's very hard to answer this question.

Answer 3

It's according to what you're keeping warm. Meat needs to be kept at 160 degrees.