2007-03-20 12:12:16 · 13 answers · asked by Geoff_and_Katie 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
NO! It's not okay!
Bacteria are everywhere in our environment. Any food of animal origin can harbor bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, cause illness. These harmful bacteria can not be seen or smelled.
When meat is ground, more of the meat is exposed to the harmful bacteria. Bacteria multiply rapidly in the "Danger Zone" — temperatures between 40 and 140 °F. To keep bacterial levels low, store ground beef at 40 °F or less and use within 2 days, or freeze. To destroy harmful bacteria, cook ground beef to 160 °F.
2007-03-20 12:19:10 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Prepared foods like beef chili should be heated to at least 165 degrees and eaten immediately. It should be stored at 40 degrees for no more than 6 days. Prepared food that is frozen can be kept for up to 4 months, sometimes longer. Food left in an environment between 40 and 165 degrees have the highest chance of harboring a virus. So it's not certain that your food that was left at room temperature for 4 hours is completely ruined or diseased, but by the FDA's standards it is not fit to eat. I have done the same thing, and then refrigerated it, and it (and I) was fine.
2016-03-16 23:44:39 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
eat it, its just some ground beef. are you gonna listen to someone who says they worked for 18 years and have no evidence to back it up? the food might be at a greater risk to hurt your health but the risks are minor and still a low chance. People from other countries anyway eat the ground beef after its been at room temp for a long while.
2007-03-20 12:23:40 · answer #3 · answered by wazzy l 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It would also depend on the temperature of the day .. how defrosted it was. make something that requires long cooking time eg spag bol.
There are dangers with using it but I really think that with the preservatives they add to the meat these days it will be fine... as long as you don't have any medical issues that should be considered.
2007-03-20 12:38:34 · answer #4 · answered by pixie_proof 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How long did you leave it on the counter? Overnight?
How old is the ground beef? Was it from the freezer or the refrigerator?
Typically, it should be fine, but more info is needed to be certain.
2007-03-20 12:19:49 · answer #5 · answered by lots_of_laughs 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
NO IT WILL NOT BE OK.
Toss it out.I worked with health dept. for over 18 yrs.
Cooking it well will not help.The damage is already done.
2007-03-20 12:18:09 · answer #6 · answered by sonnyboy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably it will be okay. If it remained at room temperature more than four or five hours, uncovered, it could have started to spoil.
2007-03-20 14:08:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you took it out of the freezer and didn't leave it out overnight yes it is still good unless it turned brownish. try cooking it and if while cooking it smells sour throw it away.
2007-03-20 12:25:10 · answer #8 · answered by sandydeedum1tx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah but it depends on the color. Was it still red, or did it turn
grey? If it's still red, OK. If grey, feed it to an enemy first and
wait to see. ( just kidding)
2007-03-20 12:21:10 · answer #9 · answered by redman 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think that cooking it thoroughly will kill off any bad bacteria...if it was my beef, i would use it.
2007-03-20 12:20:13 · answer #10 · answered by drinking_sand 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋