13 replies to this topic

[TheNoodleIncident]

Quick food safety question: I left an unopened jar a mayo (light, mayo actually) in my car for a day. It wasn't terribly hot out, but my car has a black interior and it gets pretty warm in there with the sun beating down all day. I know that you don't need to refrigerate this stuff before opening, but I'm not sure you are supposed to let it warm up like this either.

Safe to eat? I know this is a tad paranoid, and normally I would just go for it, but my bigger concern is my pregnant wife. Thanks.

[Joe Blowe]

Well, if you're paranoid, toss it. Your wife's peace of mind may be worth the 3 or 4 bucks...

But you should know that there's nothing inside an unopened jar of mayo that could spoil in that time frame. However, as soon as you introduce foreign bodies (food particles) into that jar, and then put it into a warm car, you now have a Petri dish made for growing all kinds of junk!

[TheNoodleIncident]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was missing.

Plus, I just remembered that the tuna I made for today's lunch was a bit dry (hence the need to buy more mayo), so I'll open it and add some to my sandwich. If I'm not dead by tonight, I'll assume it's safe for her as well.

[Country]

Long ago a friend got Ptomaine poisoning and ended up getting his stomach pumped. A very unpleasant experience for him. He attributed the poisoning to a jar of mayonnaise that had been opened and left unrefrigerated. He never ate mayonnaise after that.

[barolo]

I doubt you have anything to worry about because commercial stuff is so processed - it sits on shelves for months so I doubt it is particularly temperature sensitive.

[AAQuesada]

Hah! i must be tired, lol, I thought this was going to be a molecular gastronomy post about warm mayo?!

[christine007]

please, throw it out. Anyone who has food posioning will tell you the same.

[Qwerty]

Well, here's the thing.

It's probably OK to eat. As long as it was unopened, and commercial, it's designed to sit on a shelf for months without going bad. So it's probably OK. I mean, it wasn't refrigerated when you bought it, right?

But I have a pretty hard and fast rule of: When in doubt, throw it out.

I've had food poisoning a couple of times before (like, real, true food poisoning, not the "touch of diarrhea" kind) and I guarantee you I would have payed $4 to stop sitting on a toilet, holding a bucket all night wishing I was dead. Dehydrated hallucinations may be interesting, but I don't want to repeat those experiences in any way, shape or form.

I mean, again, your probably fine. But for $4, why take the chance?

[scubadoo97]

Not only did it sit on the grocers shelf unrefrigerated but it most likely arrived to the store in an unrefrigerated truck. As long as it wasn't opened I see little if any risk.

[mkayahara]

Long ago a friend got Ptomaine poisoning and ended up getting his stomach pumped.

Never having heard of this "Ptomaine" bacterium, I just went to look it up, and after consulting several trustworthy sites, I feel like I can pretty much guarantee you your friend did not have Ptomaine poisoning.

As to the OP, I agree with what everyone else has said: you're almost certainly fine in terms of food safety, but your peace of mind may be worth the expense of a new jar.

[Country]

Long ago a friend got Ptomaine poisoning and ended up getting his stomach pumped.

Never having heard of this "Ptomaine" bacterium, I just went to look it up, and after consulting several trustworthy sites, I feel like I can pretty much guarantee you your friend did not have Ptomaine poisoning.

As to the OP, I agree with what everyone else has said: you're almost certainly fine in terms of food safety, but your peace of mind may be worth the expense of a new jar.

That's just what he told me. He did have his stomach pumped and never again ate mayo. I know that much.

[mkayahara]

Long ago a friend got Ptomaine poisoning and ended up getting his stomach pumped.

Never having heard of this "Ptomaine" bacterium, I just went to look it up, and after consulting several trustworthy sites, I feel like I can pretty much guarantee you your friend did not have Ptomaine poisoning.

As to the OP, I agree with what everyone else has said: you're almost certainly fine in terms of food safety, but your peace of mind may be worth the expense of a new jar.

That's just what he told me. He did have his stomach pumped and never again ate mayo. I know that much.

I don't doubt those facts! All I meant was that ptomaines appear to be a discredited theory of foodborne illness - one I'd never heard of before.

I also just realized I misread your post initially: if the jar of mayo was opened and unrefrigerated for any length of time, I wouldn't have hesitated to throw it out. It's just not worth the risk.

[TheNoodleIncident]

I also just realized I misread your post initially: if the jar of mayo was opened and unrefrigerated for any length of time, I wouldn't have hesitated to throw it out. It's just not worth the risk.

No no, definitely NOT opened. Ugh, that makes me sick just thinking about it.

[Beebs]

Being as it's not opened, you'd probably be fine eating it. But since your wife is pregnant and pregnant women often have compromised immune systems, I'd suggest getting her a new jar, just to be absolutely sure she won't get sick.