[Answered]: You are working at a buffet restaurant and notice…

You are working at a buffet restaurant and notice that a warm (~50°C) steamer tray of fried rice has been out since lunch, and now it’s dinner… which means that it has been in place for six hours. According to the Washington State Dept. Health food code 3-501.19, all food must be cooked and served within four hours if it is being stored at room temperature. You go to throw away the fried rice, but your manager tells you “If four hours is safe, why not six hours? Waste not, want not!”. Use what you have learned so far in microbiology to explain specifically why the situation is dangerous using the following major topic prompts.