Is it safe to eat leftover food :?

Question

that was left out on the counter to cool at dinnertime, then forgotten until morning? Will additional cooking kill the bacteria that may have grown?

Answer 1

No. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, some doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Some types will produce toxins that are not destroyed by cooking. Pathogenic bacteria do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food. In other words, one cannot tell that a food has been mishandled or is dangerous to eat. For example, food that has been left too long on the counter may be dangerous to eat, but could smell and look fine. If a food has been left in the "Danger Zone" – between 40 and 140 °F – for more than 2 hours, discard it, even though it may look and smell good. Never taste a food to see if it is spoiled.

Answer 2

When I was managing restaurants, I was taught about this ideal called the "Rule of 4". Basically, you have 4 hours at which most foods can be at the time-temperature danger level. The dangerous temp range, therange at which bacteria grows best is between 41 and 140 degrees. This includes all of the amount of time COMBINED from prepping the items, the cook time during which thefood is not yet at 140, and all thetime after which it cools below 140, but not below 41. If you reheat the food within that amount of time, the time starts back where it left off. Cooking, boiling, freezing, etc., does NOT kill most bacteria, itonlyinhibits thegrowth of new cells while outside ofthat temp range. After 8 hours, there will bemore than 10,000,000,000 living bacteria cells in the food. More than 16x what ittakes to make you very sick. I like thestatement made earlier, andif Imay borrow it, "When in doubt, throw it out."

Answer 3

if th etemp was between 40 - 140 then unsafe.. if ur house is cold liek 40 like a fridge then ok for sure fish chicken no.. beef is safer. check temps always have a thermometer/pizza ok

Answer 4

Well, my Foodsafe" answer is, definitely not. Especially if it contains poultry. Best to recook it...really, really, well, and take your chances. Otherwise chuck it out.
Now, the "ME" me, says, ah go for it. Warm it up in the microwave, down some Pepto while you wait, and feast out, baby!

Answer 5

If it wasnt refrigerated or frozen after dinner it's probably spoiled and not healthy to eat...especially if left out until the next day.

Answer 6

Throw it out, better safe than sorry

Answer 7

It is not safe, better throw it away

Answer 8

I've said this before,' when in doubt ,throw it out.'

Answer 9

Throw it away.