page_title: Potentially Hazardous Food
section_title: US FDA Definition
hierarchical_section_title: Potentially Hazardous Food / US FDA Definition
caption_attribution_description: English: US FDA PHF Chart B
context_page_description: Potentially Hazardous Food is a term used by food safety organizations to classify foods that require time-temperature control to keep them safe for human consumption. A PHF is a food that:
  Contains moisture - usually regarded as a water activity greater than 0.85
  Contains protein
  Is neutral to slightly acidic - typically having a pH between 4.6 and 7.5
context_section_description: Potentially Hazardous Food has been redefined by the US Food and Drug Administration in the 2013 FDA Food Code to Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food. Pages 22 and 23 (pdf pages 54 and 55), state the following:
  "Time/temperature control for safety food" means a FOOD that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
  "Time/temperature control for safety food" includes:
  An animal FOOD that is raw or heat-treated; a plant FOOD that is heat- treated or consists of raw seed sprouts, cut melons, cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes or mixtures of cut tomatoes that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation, or garlic-in-oil mixtures that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation; and
  Except as specified in Subparagraph (3)(d) of this definition, a FOOD that because of the interaction of its AW and pH values is designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) in Table A or B of this definition:
  "Time/temperature control for safety food" does not include:
  An air-cooled hard-boiled EGG with shell intact, or an EGG with shell intact that is not hard-boiled, but has been pasteurized to destroy all viable salmonellae;
  A FOOD in an unopened HERMETICALLY SEALED CONTAINER that is commercially processed to achieve and maintain commercial sterility under conditions of non-refrigerated storage and distribution;
  A FOOD that because of its pH or AW value, or interaction of AW and pH values, is designated as a non-TCS FOOD in Table A or B of this definition;
  A FOOD that is designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) in Table A or B of this definition and has undergone a Product Assessment showing that the growth or toxin formation of pathogenic microorganisms that are reasonably likely to occur in that FOOD is precluded due to:
  Intrinsic factors including added or natural characteristics of the FOOD such as preservatives, antimicrobials, humectants, acidulants, or nutrients,
  Extrinsic factors including environmental or operational factors that affect the FOOD such as packaging, modified atmosphere such as REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING, shelf life and use, or temperature range of storage and use, or
  A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors; or
  A FOOD that does not support the growth or toxin formation of pathogenic microorganisms.
caption: PHF table B 2013 FDA Food Code.
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