If you're planning a party, put food safety at the top of your to-do list. To protect your guests from food poisoning, don't let perishable foods sit out more than two hours at typical room temperature or more than one hour at temperatures above 90 F (32 C). Your goal is to minimize the time a food is in the danger zone between 40 and 140 F (4 and 60 C) when bacteria can quickly multiply.