Do you eat food that has been left out?

[StephMK]

Wow, I did not realize that many people left pizza out! DH will be happy to hear that.

Just curious though - I thought tomatoes were one of those items that spoiled really easily? If we have leftover spaghetti sauce in the fridge more than a few days, I toss it because I didn't think it was safe anymore. Is that not true?

 

[cornflake]

Depends what it is, where it is, how long it was. I think I probably tend toward more careful than I need to be in some cases, but like, roast veg sitting out on the pan, eh, I'll put it away whenever and don't care. A lasagna, I'll put away sooner.

The pizza thing - pizza places here are all like that too, I didn't realize it wasn't like that other places. The pizzas of all varieties are on put on trays and sliced when they make them and sit on the counter until someone orders a slice. You tell them what you want, the guys toss the slices in the ovens behind them and put them on a paper plate for you when they're heated to your liking. You can order entire pizzas to be made fresh and whole for you too, but tons of people buy slices to eat there or go. It's the quintessential after-school thing, heh, and the slices do all just sit. I tend to ask how long stuff has been out and buy what's freshest of varieties I like that are different than just plain (like ones with fresh ricotta, I don't like if they've sat for hours, even though it's cooked, the blobs of ricotta...), but plain, eh.

The tomato thing - tomatoes have acid, which inhibit bacterial growth, and sugar, which enhances it. I tend to leave jarred (or homemade) sauce in the fridge for a week or more. I admit if I don't see visible fuzz or can generally remember when I opened it, I'll use it, and I tend to be more cautious than I think I probably need to be in general about this stuff (I don't leave pizza out, heh, I put it in the fridge). Image pour le Coconut -

 

[swandiverpatt]

When we get pizza, I will put the leftovers still in the box in the oven. DD or I will usually eat it the next day. I have always done that, never a problem. We do heat it up though.

That's what we used to do back in the day when I was a teen. Most of the time it would be a breakfast treat and I can't remember whether we ate it cold or not (probably).

Also, when we stayed on a farm in the summer with my grandmother she would gather eggs from the henhouse, wash them and put them in a bowl that she would leave out in the kitchen. Of course, we had scrambled eggs every morning, but most of those eggs sat out for at least 24 hours and we surprisingly never got sick.

I'm a little more fussy now and I will put things in the refrigerator no later than a couple of hours after cooking, but I'll also eat things that have dropped on the floor (5-second rule applies, this doesn't scare me), but I would be hesitant eating something a bunch of kids had made.

 

[luvsJack]

I probably wouldn't be hesitant about something kids made but that may be because we did so many cooking activities when I taught preschool. But, we cooked in small groups and I was there to oversee the hand washing, making sure the tables were wiped with Clorox wipes and that each group used clean utensils. The groups were kept small enough that I could watch for anyone wiping a nose, running to the bathroom, etc. and make sure they washed their hands again and/or use hand sanitizer. I would just assume anything made in preschool by kids would be done by the same method.

 

[mikehn]

I eat out at restaurants and street vendors on a regular basis. There isnt anything I could do with my food at home that could be any worse. So yes, I eat food that has been left out, even overnight.

 

[Debbie7452]

My SIL makes meringue cream pies for holidays. She usually makes them the night before and leaves them out. The next day we eat them and then they are left out again (night #2). Personally, I think this is crazy. They are made with milk and eggs. Sometimes I sneak them into the fridge when no one is looking, but everyone else thinks it's not necessary. One year she made them 2 days ahead of time.

I'll admit to being a little paranoid about this issue....

 

[Minnesota!]

The only thing I WON'T eat is something kids make. VOMIT!

Went to a party Saturday - got there around 6. Food had been out since around 2. We were still noshing on it at 11pm. Guacamole, tortilla roll ups, veggies and dip, corned beef, chips and dip, etc.

When I open a jar of spaghetti sauce, I put whatever we don't use in the fridge and I mark the date on the cap. We typically use it within a few weeks, but I only chuck it if there is fuzz on it

Way too much paranoia, I think!

 

[2BigKIdz]

When we were visiting my sil awhile back she was planning to make a chicken casserole for dinner. She put the chicken breasts on to boil in the morning. We went out shopping for most of the afternoon and when we got back she realized she had forgotten to tell her husband to put the chicken in the fridge. I thought surely she would toss it, it had been sitting on the stove for hours at room temp. She then shreds it and fixes her casserole as normal and sticks it in the oven. But there wasn't time to eat it before we had to leave for her daughter's graduation so the casserole sits on the stove top for about 4 hours before anyone gets a chance to eat it, you can bet I didn't touch it! The rest of the family ate it and no one got sick which I thought was a miracle!

 

[mombrontrent]

That's what we used to do back in the day when I was a teen. Most of the time it would be a breakfast treat and I can't remember whether we ate it cold or not (probably).

Also, when we stayed on a farm in the summer with my grandmother she would gather eggs from the henhouse, wash them and put them in a bowl that she would leave out in the kitchen. Of course, we had scrambled eggs every morning, but most of those eggs sat out for at least 24 hours and we surprisingly never got sick.

I'm a little more fussy now and I will put things in the refrigerator no later than a couple of hours after cooking, but I'll also eat things that have dropped on the floor (5-second rule applies, this doesn't scare me), but I would be hesitant eating something a bunch of kids had made.

Appaarently eggs do not need to be refridgerrated at all. They will not stay fresh for as long as they would if they are refrigerated though. I was shocked by this as well but when I went to Australia to visit my dad when he lived there I went to the grocery store the eggs were just sitting on the shelf, not refridgerated at all. I was grossed and out but he told me this was completely normal.

 

[luvsJack]

Appaarently eggs do not need to be refridgerrated at all. They will not stay fresh for as long as they would if they are refrigerated though. I was shocked by this as well but when I went to Australia to visit my dad when he lived there I went to the grocery store the eggs were just sitting on the shelf, not refridgerated at all. I was grossed and out but he told me this was completely normal.

During the week before Easter, the stores around here will have crates of eggs sitting out too.

Bacteria growth is slowed down by refrigerating food within two hours but not completely stopped. Food needs to be cook/reheated to kill bacteria. That may explain a lot of the "didn't get sick" stories as people are reheating the food before eating.

The instructor in the ServSafe course I took explained it by example: Mom cans her own green beans. She decides to cook a jar for supper. When she opens the jar, she tastes one green bean decides its good and pours them in a pot and cooks the beans. The mom gets food poisoning, the rest of the family does not. Heating the beans kills the bacteria.

Now, I don't suggest eating just anything that has been left out for an undetermined amount of time. But a lot of things like the casserole the pp mentioned could be perfectly safe after being reheated--which would need to be done whether refrigerated or not.



Also, someone mentioned pies. Both my mom and my mil do this at holidays. They make the pies a day or two ahead and they stay out on the counter. Never had anyone get sick.

 

[Ilivetogo]

No, no and no.
.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Some people have cast-iron stomachs. Others do not. My "plumbing" is quite ornery so I really have to watch out for food that's been mishandled, including stuff that's been sitting out too long. It's not a matter of paranoia -- once you've had ptomaine, it's a matter of self-preservation.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

I was just going to say..I went and got pizza Friday, the place I went to had all kinds of pies out for a slice...no heat lamps

It is like that in Europe. They even sell premade sandwiches complete with mayo. They also sell other premade foods such as pastas, etc. No refrigeration. We have never become ill.

Appaarently eggs do not need to be refridgerrated at all. They will not stay fresh for as long as they would if they are refrigerated though. I was shocked by this as well but when I went to Australia to visit my dad when he lived there I went to the grocery store the eggs were just sitting on the shelf, not refridgerated at all. I was grossed and out but he told me this was completely normal.

This is true. I have to admit, it still bothers me to see those eggs sitting on a shelf in the store. Why that bothers me more than the premade sandwiches with mayo, I have no idea.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Depends on what it is, and how long it's been out. But anything left out overnight goes in the trash in the morning.

 

[tennisfan]

Appaarently eggs do not need to be refridgerrated at all. They will not stay fresh for as long as they would if they are refrigerated though. I was shocked by this as well but when I went to Australia to visit my dad when he lived there I went to the grocery store the eggs were just sitting on the shelf, not refridgerated at all. I was grossed and out but he told me this was completely normal.

In the UK the eggs aren't refrigerated, they are just on the shelf.

I would eat food if it had been left out, I would just reheat it if necessary. Yet to be ill by doing this.