Here's one from my kids about food poisoning...ready?

Question

We were discussing why you shouldn't eat food that had been sitting out on the counter for an hour or longer, and how you could get salmonella or e-coli poisoning from eating it.

My daughter the pointed out, that the reason we COOK our food before eating it is to remove harmful bacteria such as salmonella and e-coli which might be present. In which case, if there was an item of food that had been left on the counter for an hour or more, then re-heated to a temperature of 200 degrees or more, that any bacteria would be killed.

So what she's asking is, would it be okay to eat food that has been left sitting out for hours on end, if you re-heated it to a safe temperature (200 degrees or more) before eating it.

Why she'd want to do this, I have no idea....but a question's a question!

Answer 1

Hmmmmm , its a good question ;
My answer would be, no ,
for these reasons

bacteria thrive with warmth and moisture ;
they do not ,come from the cooked food itself,

but bacteria ,will settle onto it ,
VIA dust , flies ,particals in the air etc

And rapidly multiply, at an alarming rate ,
if left on the 'counter' for hours '

this is the start off , the breakdown and decay.,of the food.
Toxins from bacterial organisms , also develop in the food .

if the remains, are then reheated,
it is possible that most of the bacteria are ,
indeed killed off , but not all ,
some will remain deep in the food ,
along with the toxins ,

which can also spread deadly sickness
to the person who, consumes the food

.Nobody likes waste , however,
I would advise your daughter,
to be very picky, about what she eats .

salmonella and e-coli are nasty bugs to have ,
and with toxins on top,
there is only so much ,our natural immunity can fight

she could become ,her very ill indeed .
if she ate food, that had been standing around unchilled

Sensible food hygiene , will eliminate most problems;
1]
hands should be clean , also chopping boards, knives etc
2]
raw food ,should Never !!!
come in contact ,with cooked food

3]
freshly cooked foods, especially ( meat)
should be eaten at once
or should be covered and chilled
, then refrigerated or frozen

4].
frozen foods ;
should be thawed out properly ,
before cooking well and eaten the same day

DO NOT REHEAT*** frozen *** FOOD
(once cooked) AGAIN


I hope this helps to clarify your question .

>^,,^<

Answer 2

For the most part, she is correct as long as the food isn't recontaminated.

For example, if you roasted a chicken and cut what you needed but left the rest on the counter for a few hours. The chicken would still be fine to eat. This is my opinion which is contrary to typical food safety advice.

However, if you had a party and people were coming and going picking at the food. I'd be a little more leery of the chicken because you don't know if people washed their hands properly, plus what other stuff was mixed with the chicken.

From what I've read about restaurants having problems, they 1) didn't cook the food properly, (2) they didn't store the food properly before cooking, (3) cross-contamination - putting cooked food in onto something that had raw food and (4) employees not washing properly after using the facilities.

At home, I control all aspects of the cooking process so I know the status of my food.

At a restaurant, I would find this unacceptable, but that's because the food passes through many hands before it reaches my table.

Answer 3

TWO HOURS is the MAXIMUM time perishable foods should be at room temperature. This INCLUDES the time they're on the table during your meal. Just ONE bacterium, doubling every 20 minutes, can grow to over 2,097,152 bacteria in 7 hours!

Perishable foods include:

* Meat, poultry, seafood and tofu
* Dairy products
* Cooked pasta, rice and vegetables
* Fresh, peeled and/or cut fruits and vegetables.

Reheating food may not make it safe. If food is left out too long, some bacteria, such as staphylococcus aureus (staph), can form a heat-resistant toxin that cooking can't destroy.

One of the most common sources of staph bacteria is the human body. Even healthy people carry staph -- according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Bad Bug Book," staph bacteria are present in the nasal passages and throats and on the hair and skin of 50 percent or more of healthy individuals. Staph bacteria is found in facial blemishes, cuts and lesions.

Most likely, the only way you'll know if a food contained staph bacteria is when someone gets sick.

Answer 4

scientist have found germs and bacteria that came survive 500 degrees F or something like that. but im not sure what type of surface they live on or if they affect humans so i guess the best thing to do is never leave food out for an hour or more to be on the safe side.

Answer 5

There are other types of bacteria that grow on food after it is cooked. Your daughter is correct in thinking that we cook foods to kill bacteria but other bacteria and microrganisms just LOVE a great food source like something sitting out on the counter!

There's more information that will help you and your daughter here:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Be%5FFoodSafe/

You'll find it very informative and quite helpful!

Answer 6

NO!!! Food shouldn't sit out for more then 2 hours, ever. It doesn't matter if its going to be reheated. If it was ever colder or warmer then room temp, the less time out the better.

Answer 7

no, you shouldn't eat this food. Even though you are heating it up, more of the bacteriaa has formed, meaning that it doesn't get completely removed since there is so much of it.

Answer 8

do an experiment. leave some food oud cook it and let her eat it, and see what happens...I go by smell, if it stinks do not eat it...

Answer 9

My rule of thumb?.........When in doubt, throw it out! You're better safe than sorry.

Answer 10

HAHA! She doesn't want to DO it - she just wants to be RIGHT! Don't think too deep. LOL