Checking on food safety

[tinpanalley]

I couldn't find a post specifically in these conditions..

We got a pack of sliced roast beef from Costco, put away all our groceries and forgot about that pack in a bag in our kitchen. We noticed just know, and it's been 3 and a half hours since it was taken out of a fridge at the store.

What do we think? Is this too risky to keep?

[liuzhou]

`How is the pack wrapped?

[tinpanalley]

43 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

`How is the pack wrapped?

It's a sealed pack in plastic that you have to peel open. This one exactly.

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, tinpanalley said:

It's a sealed pack in plastic that you have to peel open. This one exactly.

 

 

I'd eat it.

[tinpanalley]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

I'd eat it.

Ok, based on what? Sorry, not questioning you I just want to know what your criteria was.  Do you want to see a picture? There's nothing to see. It looks completely normal.

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, tinpanalley said:

3 and a half hours since it was taken out of a fridge at the store

 

I agree it's probably fine.  It's sealed and has only been in the 'danger zone' for 3 hours, and probably not even above 70F.  

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, tinpanalley said:

Ok, based on what? 

 

A couple of hours isn't that long. It probably takes some people that long to get back from the store.

[tinpanalley]

3 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I agree it's probably fine.  It's sealed and has only been in the 'danger zone' for 3 hours, and probably not even above 70F.  

If it was above 70 (sorry have to convert that to celsius) then that's 21C and in the apartment during that part of the heat wave is was about 24 in here even with our AC on but the pack was still cool to the touch, not fridge cold but not at all warm, when we touched it.

[pastrygirl]

IIRC, my county health department now recommends cooked foods be cooled to 40F/4C within 6 hours (used to be 4?).

 

Forgetting it on the counter isn't ideal, but it's also no different from making a sandwich in the morning and eating it 4 or 5 hours later.  A few hours at reasonable temp isn't hot enough or long enough for existing pathogens to multiply to a dangerous level.  

[tinpanalley]

8 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

IIRC, my county health department now recommends cooked foods be cooled to 40F/4C within 6 hours (used to be 4?).

 

Forgetting it on the counter isn't ideal, but it's also no different from making a sandwich in the morning and eating it 4 or 5 hours later.  A few hours at reasonable temp isn't hot enough or long enough for existing pathogens to multiply to a dangerous level.  

 

I was just thinking, I can't begin to remember how many times we made friends dinner, food served at 8 - 8:30, everyone sat around eating until 9:30, had more leftovers around 10:00, then spent the rest of the night talking and drinking wine and didn't put anything away in the fridge until maybe midnight. Have never gotten sick from that.

[blue_dolphin]

The bacterial growth temp “danger zone” is generally 40° - 140°F or 5° - 60°C.

At 4°C and below, the bacteria are chilling.  Once the temp starts to increase, the bugs rouse themselves and start getting ready to multiply.  Once this “lag phase” of getting ready is over and everything is warm and toasty, they take off like a shot. So you have a little time to play with. 

Food held in the danger zone for less than 2 hours can generally be used or put back in the refrigerator to use later.
Food held in that range for 2-4 hours is generally safe to be eaten immediately but shouldn’t be put back in the fridge for continued storage.
Food held in that range for 4 hours or more should be discarded. 

 

With your sliced meat, I’d happily eat a sandwich now. 
I probably wouldn’t put it back in the fridge and serve it later, especially to anyone with health concerns. It may be fine, but you’ve allowed for a certain amount of bacterial growth while it was warm. Those bugs won’t multiply as quickly in the fridge but can still produce toxins while they’re chilling out and there will be more of them ready to take off and multiply once it’s warm again. 
 

[haresfur]

Report back if you die

[tinpanalley]

18 minutes ago, haresfur said:

Report back if you die

K, cool. I'll let you know.

[tinpanalley]

35 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

The bacterial growth temp “danger zone” is generally 40° - 140°F or 5° - 60°C.

At 4°C and below, the bacteria are chilling.  Once the temp starts to increase, the bugs rouse themselves and start getting ready to multiply.  Once this “lag phase” of getting ready is over and everything is warm and toasty, they take off like a shot. So you have a little time to play with. 

Food held in the danger zone for less than 2 hours can generally be used or put back in the refrigerator to use later.
Food held in that range for 2-4 hours is generally safe to be eaten immediately but shouldn’t be put back in the fridge for continued storage.
Food held in that range for 4 hours or more should be discarded. 

 

With your sliced meat, I’d happily eat a sandwich now. 
I probably wouldn’t put it back in the fridge and serve it later, especially to anyone with health concerns. It may be fine, but you’ve allowed for a certain amount of bacterial growth while it was warm. Those bugs won’t multiply as quickly in the fridge but can still produce toxins while they’re chilling out and there will be more of them ready to take off and multiply once it’s warm again. 
 

So this was 5 days ago tonight and it's been in the coldest part of the fridge. We were going to have some now and freeze the rest properly separated as we always do with other meats.

[blue_dolphin]

12 minutes ago, tinpanalley said:

So this was 5 days ago tonight and it's been in the coldest part of the fridge. We were going to have some now and freeze the rest properly separated as we always do with other meats.

5 days or 5 hours? 

[tinpanalley]

20 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

5 days or 5 hours? 

5 days ago, as of tonight, in the coldest part of the fridge, sealed. And on the night in question they were out for 3.5 hours from store fridge to when we noticed at home.

Edited 30 minutes ago by tinpanalley (log)

[blue_dolphin]

6 minutes ago, tinpanalley said:

5 days ago, as of tonight, in the coldest part of the fridge, sealed. And on the night in question they were out for 3.5 hours from store fridge to when we noticed at home.

This is rather a different situation than described in the original post. 
If it had been repackaged and frozen at the 3.5 hr time point, that’s one thing but 5 days later?  
Five days in the fridge for cooked meats is where I draw the line, even with properly handled foods.

Lots of people, including our ancestors, have paid no attention to food safety guidelines and survived just fine. Others haven’t been so lucky. 
You do you!