[cableshaft]

Food shouldn't be left out unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours, is the USDA's recommendation, otherwise the bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels. Even if you eat it later and don't get sick, it doesn't mean it wasn't a risky thing you did.

So people that go out to eat then go out and do other things that night before going home, unless it's the middle of winter and the car is basically a refrigerator itself, probably shouldn't bother bringing leftovers home with them.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-long-can-you-leave-cooked-food...

[phonypc]

Food safety is a lot more complicated than time and temperature. Guidelines like the USDA's are simplified and overzealous to the point of harm IMO. Leftover pasta in tomato sauce in a takeout container in a car overnight has probably never made anyone sick. Pasta in cream sauce might spoil, but again probably perfectly safe from the standpoint of pathogens. Meanwhile, a raw lettuce salad stands a reasonable chance of making you sick even if always stored according to the guidelines.

[jfengel]

If you're going to eat it, you've got up to 4 hours. Two hours is the time to get it out of the danger zone if you're going to leave it in the fridge. But if you're going to eat it rather than store it, the guidelines are more lenient.

[cableshaft]

Have a source for that? I can't find a mention of that anywhere.

[jfengel]

I apologize: the USDA uses only the 2 hour rule. The 2/4 hour rule is common in most of the rest of the world, most prominently in Australia, e.g.: https://timestrip.com/2-hour-4-hour-rule-haccp-plans/