Can fully cooked chicken sit out for 6 hours w/o being refridgerated and still be ok to eat?

Answer 1

NO WAY!!!

Simple precautions to help prevent food poisoning:
Wash hands
Avoid cross-contamination of foods
Keep cold foods cold
Refrigerate leftovers immediately
What causes food poisoning?
Unwashed hands, undercooked meats, cross-contamination from raw meats to other foods and eating unwashed fruits and vegetables can spread E. coli, salmonella and a host of other food-borne diseases. There are approximately 1.5 million cases of food-borne illnesses per year in our state, including 6,500 hospitalizations and 100 deaths.

What many people call "stomach flu" or "intestinal virus" is often food poisoning, resulting in symptoms from mild nausea to a serious condition requiring medical treatment and hospitalization. Especially at risk are young children, the elderly, and people who have diseases that involve the immune system, such as asthma, arthritis, cancer, HIV, diabetes, liver and kidney diseases.

How can I prevent these illnesses?
Wash Hands Frequently

Wash hands with soap and water before and after handling raw meats.
Where running water is unavailable, set up a make-shift hand wash station using hand soap and a container with a spigot, filled with warm water.
As a last resort, waterless hand sanitizers or disposable hand wipes can be used.
Everyone should wash hands before eating to prevent passing germs to food.
Keep cold foods cold - below 45 degrees Fahrenheit
Keep hot foods hot - above 140 degrees Fahrenheit

Cook Meats Thoroughly

The safest way to ensure meats are cooked well enough is to use a food thermometer.

Ground beef patties: insert thermometer in center of patty - 160 degrees Fahrenheit
Chicken: 170 degrees Fahrenheit
Beef, veal and lamb cuts: 145 degrees Fahrenheit
If a thermometer is unavailable, cut into meat to check for signs that it is done. Hamburgers should be brown in the middle and chicken should have no pink inside. Consider serving chicken that has been precooked and chilled, or cooking chicken pieces in advance by boiling or microwaving in your kitchen before barbecuing. Take-out chicken is also a potential hazard if not kept hot or completely chilled before serving.

Preparing Salads

While mayonnaise has been implicated as a cause of food poisoning, the real culprits in salads are the other ingredients (potatoes, eggs, pasta, tuna, etc.) that are often combined with mayo before being thoroughly chilled and then left at room temperature for several hours. Bacteria can be introduced and multiply while ingredients are warm. Thoroughly chill salad ingredients, including mayo, before combining. Even canned tuna needs to be pre-chilled, unless you will be eating it immediately after opening the can.
Transport on ice: potato, macaroni and other salads containing milk, meat or eggs.
Nest salads in ice: Outdoors, consider nesting the salad bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice.

Wash Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Nearly all types of fruits and vegetables have been implicated in food-borne illnesses.
All fruits and vegetables should be washed with running water before cooking and/or serving.
Use a vegetable brush and running water (no soap) to clean the outside of melons. Bacteria and other pathogens can be transferred to the inside of the fruit or vegetable by cutting through it.
Cut melons, fruits and vegetables should be kept cold. When served outdoors, consider placing the serving dish on ice or immediately store in an ice chest after serving.
Storing Leftovers

Immediately store leftovers in an ice chest after everyone has eaten. Food left out for more than two hours should be discarded.

Cooking and Clean-Up

Clean utensils and cutting surfaces to avoid contamination from raw meat to other foods.
Use a different utensil and dish for cooking than what is used for serving. For example, do not return cooked meat to a dish that held raw meat.
Wash utensils and surfaces with hot soapy water, then rinse.

Answer 2

Yes of course, providing it was really fully cooked and had not already been sitting around since it was cooked. I used to take chicken from home with me on long drives across country and never gave a thought to it.

Answer 3

Absolutely not, even if ALL bacteria in the chicken are killed in the cooking process, airborne bacteria will still proliferate and reproduce on the cooked chicken. There is also the possiblity of botulism spores and other nasty bugs staying viable in the chicken. So i'd definitely advise against it.

Answer 4

Probably yes. Do not do it. If a food is sterile and is not contaminated it will remain sterile. So for instance Chicken which is fried in batter then placed in a sterile box without contamination will remain in the box without microbiological contamination. You have no assurance that the cook followed proper technique such as wearing disposable plastic gloves. You do not know the chicken remained uncontaminated.

Answer 5

It depends on the temperature. If its below 20, then it can be eaten. but it should be covered and no insect can get in specially fly. You should also and before eat it, warm it in oven for 30 min and under 130 Deg C (min).That's what I think and what we do at home but I am not a doctor and you should ask a local doctor.

Answer 6

I would not take the chance that it may have gone bad. Chicken needs to be kept cold, I dont think its worth getting sick. Throw it out.

Answer 7

You won't know until after you eat it, but why would you take that chance. Get food poisoning once and you won't even bother asking next time!!!

Answer 8

no, there r kinds of bacteria that grows on it and since baceria grows fastest on food found at room temperature the chances r u r gonna get food poisining

Answer 9

I think it's fine, if the kitchen is clean and cool. If the counter is dirty or it's too warm in the house, I would chuck it.

Answer 10

Only if reheated to 165 degrees.