How long are leftovers good for sitting out at room temperture?

[chris lindberg]

You know how you're not supposed to put freshly cooked hot/warm food directly into the fridge after cooking it because of bacteria growing on it or something, well I didn't put my leftovers away today because of this fact and now am deciding if my pork sausages would still be good to eat after sitting out in room temperature for the past 4 hours?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by chris lindberg

You know how you're not supposed to put freshly cooked hot/warm food directly into the fridge after cooking it because of bacteria growing on it or something

Now, my g/f says the same thing. Other that raising the temperature in the fridge, how would this do anything?

Fully cooked food I'd say is OK 4 hours. Just heat it up good.

[Rathji]

USDA Fact Sheet on Food Safety

You know how you're not supposed to put freshly cooked hot/warm food directly into the fridge after cooking it because of bacteria growing on it or something,

This makes no sense, If you net the food cool to the median temperatures where bacteria grow well it can only increase the bacteria count. You food needs to be either hot or cold, inbetween for to long is risky.

From USDA http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/..._Out/index.asp

Foodborne bacteria grow rapidly when food is left out on the counter. Room temperatures fall in the "Danger Zone," between 40 and 140°F, where bacteria grow rapidly. It is estimated that as many as 9,000 deaths and 6.5 to 33 million illnesses yearly are directly linked to foodborne pathogens (bacteria and other microorganisms that cause illness). And many of these illnesses are caused by food that are left out on the counter at room temperature.

Again from USDA http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/...Food/index.asp

A. Remember the basic food safety rules:
Keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold.
Don't let any cooked food, meat or poultry remain in the danger zone — between 40 °F and 140 °F — for more than 2 hours

If it was me, I would nuke them good and eat, npnp.

[Flash]

Another "is it okay to eat" thread?

I'm pretty sure they're still going to be okay to eat.

[sadora]

You can leave food out no longer than two hours before bacteria begins to multiply, you can even push it up to 4 hours, depending on how hot food is to begin with, but I wouldn't recommend it. 2 hours max. What you should concentrate on, if you have a thermometer, is keeping food out of the danger zone which is between 4C to 60C. The longer you let your food out of the fridge it's going to drop to about 37C which is the optimal temperature for microbial growth. So, if you have hot food you should ideally let it cool anywhere between 80C to 60C before putting it in the fridge.

You should note, what everyone should note actually because it seems like threads like this keep popping up every so often, that after the 3rd hour of letting food sit out bacteria doubles about every 20 minutes.

[KevanGuy]

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

[HelloHockeyFans]

So if your food is hot and you put it in the fridge and it cools, once it gets to that 37 degree mark which some one said is the optimal temperature for bacteria growth, wouldn't bacteria start to form on the food in the fridge? Or does it not stay at the temperature long enough for bacteria to grow as it continues to cool in the fridge..?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

Who are the 2010 Belarussian Olympic hockey team members?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

So if your food is hot and you put it in the fridge and it cools, once it gets to that 37 degree mark which some one said is the optimal temperature for bacteria growth, wouldn't bacteria start to form on the food in the fridge? Or does it not stay at the temperature long enough for bacteria to grow as it continues to cool in the fridge..?

Of course it does, but it stays in the 'danger zone' for alot less time, so the bacteria growth is minimal. If you leave it out so the cool down time is 4-5x or more, you gonna make 4-5x more bacteria minimum, since the rate of bateria growth increases over time. So when you put it in the fridge you are certianly much further ahead.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

So if your food is hot and you put it in the fridge and it cools, once it gets to that 37 degree mark which some one said is the optimal temperature for bacteria growth, wouldn't bacteria start to form on the food in the fridge? Or does it not stay at the temperature long enough for bacteria to grow as it continues to cool in the fridge..?

Yes, bacteria would grow and would continue until the temperature drops past 4C, which if you put the hot food in the fridge it would take longer for the temperature to drop.

[ken0042]

Just reading some stuff on Snopes, it appears that most of the reasons people believe you shouldn't put hot food into a fridge:

- Old days of non-frost free fridges when humidity was enemy #1
- Glass shelves breaking
- heating up other food into the bacteria zone
- wear on the motor

So, I would think something like sausages which would cool quickly would be better cooled in the fridge.

[Eddie Bronze]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

PWN3D!!!

[Flash]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

While I do think they're okay to eat, I have to say, this answer is a winner!

[chris lindberg]

Alright thanks CP, everyones a comedian eh

I was wondering what to do, had just finished supper and was deciding between putting the sausages into the fridge while still hot/warm or leaving them out on the counter for 4 hours while I went and crashed out for a bit, next time I'll just throw the leftovers in the fridge if they are gonna be left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

[TSXCman]

After going to university I can safely tell you that anything left overnight on a counter is safe the next day. ANYTHING


on a side note, Ive heard that if you wrap your food in something that would be acting as insulation (foil), then it will cool slower, thus more bacteria. in the case lte it cool to median temp before wrapping it up.

I just cooked a 2inch thick prime rib steak for the hockey game, ate half, left other half for whole game. its now in fridge but i will eat it tomorrow for breakfast without skipping a beat

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

Holy crap, that made me laugh.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

It took me a few seconds to get this and now I can't stop laughing!

[MattyK]

As a University alum and a long-time bachelor, I can agree that food stays edible for a long time left out.

We didn't think twice about eating day-old pizza that was left out. There was the odd time we would push the 48 hour mark, but most of the time the pizza was finished long before that.

Leaving food out on the counter for four hours? No worries. Think about how long food is left out at picnics and BBQ's. 30 degree weather, flies free to crawl all over it, etc...

[Ro]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Salmonella - Listeria - Botulism
Staphylococcus - Norovirus - Trichinella spiralis
Brucella - Vibrio vulnificus - E. Coli

Campylobacter - Yersinia
Bacillus cereus - Rotavirus

Entamoeba histolytica

OMG, I can't stop LOL! Bravo, sir!

[sadora]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

After going to university I can safely tell you that anything left overnight on a counter is safe the next day. ANYTHING

I beg to differ and I hope that people don't try to push their chances. If something can withstand that without growing bacteria then it has a bunch of preservatives that you wouldn't want in your system to begin with, so people, please don't take chances with leaving your food out.