What is a "TCS food"?

TCS foods are foods that require "Time/Temperature Control for Safety". Nearly all foods naturally contain microorganisms that can cause foodborne illness. Many of these pathogens and microorganisms can be killed at high temperatures. This is why we cook food. Also, these microorganisms can multiply rapidly in certain temperatures. We must keep foods out of these temperatures as much as possible to limit their growth.
Some types of food contain more pathogens than others. Or they may contain different varieties of pathogens that require different levels of heat to kill them. And some foods may contain low levels of harmless pathogens and may not need cooking at all. TCS foods contain dangerous pathogens that must be controlled with temperature or the amount of time that the food is allowed to remain in unsafe temperatures.