# Is the "warm" setting on a crockpot hot enough to keep food safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574 "2014-12-07T15:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/21 "2014-12-09T17:05:13Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > For myself, no problem eating it. I’d probably not, say, bring it to the potluck at work. I’d bring it to work, but then I’d mention to a few people that the dip Jenny brought tasted a bit off to me, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/22 "2014-12-09T17:37:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > In places without bears and raccoons, I take it. Here, they’d take it. Bears become inactive in the winter, never had a raccoon problem, but they do live around here. Again perhaps a winter only thing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/23 "2014-12-11T03:58:53Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > If you put it in the fridge _immediately_ after cooking, your fridge is going to have to work very hard to pump all that heat out. Why not let it cool _to_ safety-threshold temperature first? > > Ah. That says, within two hours. Quite a long ways from immediately. There is no simple rule to follow. The cite provided is only giving some simple fairly safe steps for typical home cooking situations. However, those guidelines would get citations from inspectors in institutional situations. If you want to keep food safe you have to keep it out of the danger zone between 40F and pasteurization temperature. Pasteurization temperature ranges based on holding time, starting at approximately 130F, and at about 165F the holding time drops to 0. There are variances for specific foods and holding times. It is very difficult to accurately measure these temperatures in most home cooking situations, so error on the side of safety is recommended. Between 40F and the safe cooking temperature you need to cool the food as rapidly as possible for maximum safety. Realistically, letting properly cooked food cool for 2 hours in typical household cooking is fine. Starting from a high enough temperature the time to cool into the danger zone and the time it takes for bacteria to multiply gives you a lot of leeway. The study I saw on the subject discounted the effect of warming other foods by putting hot foods in the refrigerator immediately. Obviously it will require more energy consumption, but the affect on other foods in the refrigerator already below 40F was negligible. But I generally don’t do that at home, it’s not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/24 "2014-12-11T14:46:33Z")
As mentioned, the only way to know for sure is to take the temp of food or water in your crockpot on the warm setting after it’s been in there long enough to stabilize. Having said that, I can’t imagine the warm setting is below 140 degrees. The “warm” or “hold” setting on most ovens is about 170 degrees or so. ---
**Author:** ![DoggyDunnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DoggyDunnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoggyDunnit)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/25 "2014-12-11T15:16:21Z")
Both my grandmother and I have gone so far as to eat chili, burgers, and chicken that has sat out at room temperature for over 4 hours (sometimes as many as 12 hours), and we ain’t keeled over yet. Neither have we gotten food poisoning from such. And she’s almost 90. I’ve eaten beef-n-pepperoni pizza that sat out at room temp for 20 hours. Your food on the Warm setting of a crock pot should be just fine. At the worst, you’ll probably just get the runs. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/26 "2014-12-12T00:55:23Z")
a food like pizza, which starts with somewhat dry stuff, then is baked to crispness, has a different danger factor compared to a broth. ---
**Author:** ![underbonnieatelltaleofwarmmeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/67e7ee/32.png) [@underbonnieatelltaleofwarmmeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/underbonnieatelltaleofwarmmeat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/27 "2016-10-17T06:15:52Z")
Hi Senor Beef, I too have left a chunk of beef on the “Keep Warm” function for about 15 hours now. Important to note I never actually turned it to the low or high function. Im hoping to come home to a delicious shredded beef delight although I am also prepared for a 800g grams of slightly greyed meat in a broth of “warm” garlic juice. Good luck with you’re endeavours ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/28 "2016-10-17T10:11:14Z")
After two years, I suspect all it will be is some carbon-like deposits on the bottom and sides of the pot. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574/29 "2016-10-17T12:24:29Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > … > > Traditional cooking on a coal range or stove involved the addition of ingredients interspersed by eating, over a period of days. Pioneers and poor people would have a stew or soup cooking for a week whilst serving up daily meals from the pot. > > Unfortunately this doesn’t work with a crockpot. I don’t recall the explanation but essentially the food is torn apart by overcooking even on Low. > > Live and learn. 😃 Long dead thread, but I don’t believe the pot was left to cook continuously, but heated for meals and left to cool till next time. Continuously cooking would result in a buildup in burnt food on the bottom. I have cooked in such a manner, where you cook something and then leave the rest in the pot till next time, over and over. And yes I just left in on the stovetop without heating it in between meals. I also have to add that over time the flavors are incredible I may have done that for weeks but IDK as there are times when you know you have to start over. Those times would be when the liquid boils off and it starts burning, it sat too long without reheating (for me this would be about at the 2 day mark but that depends), or you cook something that creates an off flavor - this is a food flavor clash, not a gone bad taste. The starting over times usually tastes very bland and disappointing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-warm-setting-on-a-crockpot-hot-enough-to-keep-food-safe/706574.md?page=1)