Just to chime in...as a chef, you don't need to throw food away that has been left out for 2 hours at room temperature...that's 6 hours if it comes from a controlled environment (i.e. Cold storage at 39 or below, or cooked to the proper internal temp for that dish), and stays in a controlled environment (room temp would qualify)...as long as you don't then serve it again...would have to throw away after the 6 hours. If you keep it outside the danger zone, and document every 2 hours, you can then cool it effectively (taken from above 140 to below 70 in the first 2 hours, and then from 70 to below 40 over the next 4 hours), you can re-heat it for later use.
At home, if you are going to follow all the USDA rules (I don't), then you also can't use anything in the fridge opened for more than 7 days, and with some products less (Milk is 3 days open and dated). No one does that. If it doesn't smell or feel slimey, I'm cooking that stuff up and eating it.