Food safety temperatures for pizzerias: the FDA Food Code chart in °F
Under the FDA Food Code, which most states and counties adopt in some version, time/temperature control (TCS) foods are held cold at 41 °F or below and hot at 135 °F or above. Cooked food must cool from 135 °F to 70 °F within 2 hours and to 41 °F within 6 hours total, and food reheated for hot holding must hit 165 °F within 2 hours.
Why those numbers
Between 41 and 135 °F, the bacteria behind most foodborne illness multiply, some of them very fast near body temperature. Cold slows them without killing them; holding above 135 °F stops them growing. Every rule below comes back to the same idea: keep food out of that range as much as possible, and be able to show that you did.
The Food Code is a model, not a federal law. Your state adopts it, sometimes an older edition and sometimes with changes, and your city or county health department enforces it. Where your local code or a manufacturer’s label is stricter, the stricter rule wins.
The temperature chart
| What | Temperature | In a pizzeria |
|---|---|---|
| Cold holding | 41 °F or below | Everything in the prep table: mozzarella, sausage, ham, cooked chicken |
| Hot holding | 135 °F or above | Slices under a warmer, wings, meatballs held for service |
| Cooling cooked food | 135 → 70 °F in 2 hours, then to 41 °F within 6 hours total | Sauce, meat sauce, pre-cooked toppings |
| Reheating for hot holding | 165 °F for 15 seconds, within 2 hours | Sauce or meatballs made the day before |
| Cooking poultry | 165 °F for 15 seconds | Chicken topping cooked in-house |
| Cooking ground meat | 155 °F for 15 seconds | Sausage or beef crumbles cooked in-house |
| Ready-to-eat TCS food held over 24 hours | Date-marked, 7 days max at 41 °F | Opened deli meats, cooked toppings, house sauces |
FDA Food Code sections 3-401.11, 3-403.11, 3-501.14, 3-501.16 and 3-501.17, as adopted by state codes (Oregon, Delaware, Utah). Check your own jurisdiction’s version.
Set coolers to 36–38 °F rather than 41. A door opened fifty times on a Friday night pushes the air temperature up several degrees, and that margin is what keeps your food under the limit.
What is specific to a pizzeria
The prep table during a rush
This is the weak spot in nearly every pizzeria. The compressor cools the rail, but the top inch of each open pan, a few feet from a 550 °F oven, can drift above 41 °F during a rush. Fill the pans little and often, close the lid as soon as the rush eases, and never dump what is left at close into a fresh pan for tomorrow.
Dough in cold fermentation
Dough balls share the cooler with your toppings, and the same habits apply. Label every tray with the date and time it was mixed, and write your tempering step (a few hours at room temperature before service) into your procedures rather than leaving it to whoever is on shift. The fermentation side is covered in our Neapolitan dough recipe.
Mozzarella, sauce and cured meats
Mozzarella is a TCS food: keep it at 41 °F or below, and once you open, shred or slice it, date-mark it. Tomato sauce: move an opened can into a covered, labeled container and refrigerate it; sauce cooked in house follows the cooling rule. Cured meats: sliced pepperoni and salami belong in the cooler, and opened deli meats get a date mark like any other ready-to-eat food.
Thawing
Thaw in the cooler at 41 °F or below, under cold running water, or as part of cooking. Not on the counter, and not in a sink of warm water.
Proving it: logs and your inspection
A health inspector will probe your food and ask how you control temperatures, and a log is the easiest answer. The result goes on your inspection report, and in some places, like New York City and Los Angeles County, on a letter grade customers see in your window. A reasonable minimum:
| What | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| Coolers, freezers, prep table | Opening, mid-shift and close | Written log or automatic sensor |
| Deliveries | Every delivery | Probe between packages; reject cold items above 41 °F |
| Cooling | Every batch | Start, 2-hour and finish times and temperatures |
| Probe thermometer | Weekly or after a drop | Check in an ice-water slurry: it should read 32 °F |
Also write down what you did when a reading was out of range: food discarded, technician called. That corrective action is what inspectors look for.
Refrigeration is also an equipment decision: our pizzeria equipment comparison covers why the prep table is not where to save money. For what the inspector actually checks, see how health inspections work for pizzerias. And for the other compliance topic every menu has to handle, the allergen rules for restaurants.