Fridge left open- help!

rainbowbow
rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Woke up to a pissed boyfriend because I apparently put a bottle In the refrigerator that kept it from closing about an inch last night. It was open for about 6 hours total.

I have condiments
Jams and jellies
Fruits and veggies
Eggs
Soy milk
Yogurt
And some cheeses (baby bell)


Do I need to scrap absolutely everything? This sounds strange but it's actually really common here for people to leave eggs on the counter instead of refrigerating and I know yogurts and cheeses have been used for thousands of years as a means of preserving milk. I know also that soy milk is self stable BEFORE being opened.

What are y'alls thoughts? I know about food safety temperature and if in a restaurant would throw everything out. But I don't want to let that get in the way of plain old common sense.

Replies

  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    Everything should be fine, just check the milk and yogurt, I think you can tell by smell if it's bad.
  • SLLeask
    SLLeask Posts: 489 Member
    Everything will be fine, although as fr33sia12 said, sniff the milk and yoghurts and I'd use them soonish.
  • janetennet
    janetennet Posts: 143 Member
    No, you shouldn't have to. The cheese will be okay as will the jams and jellies, fruit and veg (unless cut) can withstand being out on the counter for some time (but will also be easily noticeable if there is a problem wilting etc.), I would check your yogurts and milks if they are open - it they are un-open they should be fine. Eggs will be fine too.
    No, need to stress as it happens to the best of us, If you have any meats or chicken etc give it a sniff before you try anything.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    Eggs, spreads, definitely okay. Meat or dairy based products - I would touch them and see how cold they are, if the fridge was only open a teeeny tiny bit, they may have kept cold enough to be okay.

    A restaurant would throw everything in the bin, but restaurants have to keep food at the highest level of safety - as they have to provide food for all sorts of immune systems. What may not bother the fit, healthy 20-something-year-old, it could bother the elderly lady going through chemo with the weakened immune system.
  • David_2015
    David_2015 Posts: 231 Member
    My partner did the same and everything was fine. Didn't even chuck the meat/dairy and nothing happened.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Hard call to make.

    I tend to be pretty careless since it's just me at my house. I'd keep it all. On the other hand, when other people are involved, I won't risk with their health. I've had severe food poisoning (restaurant food) and won't be responsible for doing that to someone else.

    Given no gastrointestinal or immunological issues in your household, I'd ditch anything close to it's Use By date. Jams and similar will mold in the next couple of days if they've been warm too long and that'd be obvious so I'd hang on to them for that time and see. Eggs are borderline. On the one hand, the probability of getting an egg contaminated with Salmonella (which is all I'd be worrying about) is pretty low. On the other hand, the consequences of Salmonella poisoning can be particularly nasty and eggs aren't terribly expensive.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    I have condiments - fine
    Jams and jellies - fine
    Fruits and veggies - fine
    Eggs - most likely fine
    Soy milk - never good to begin with, so toss :D
    Yogurt - maybe
    And some cheeses (baby bell) - most likely fine
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,222 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    It was open an inch. Things Surely stayed cold. You might have wasted a little electricity. Not a big deal.

    This. They're pretty efficient, it will have just run its motor all night to stay at temp. Everything will be fine.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    It was open an inch. Things Surely stayed cold. You might have wasted a little electricity. Not a big deal.

    well, for example my soy milk and juices were JUST above room temp with condensation all over the cartons. :(
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Frankly you could probably have left them all out on the counter for six hours and they'd be fine. It's not like food instantly spoils.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I'm funky about things like this. I would throw out the eggs and milk and yogurt (especially if these were getting into the expiration by date).

    All jar stuff, cheese, and what not, should ok, food left in the crisper etc.. all good.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    Frankly you could probably have left them all out on the counter for six hours and they'd be fine. It's not like food instantly spoils.
    Agree. It'll be fine.
  • JShailen
    JShailen Posts: 184 Member
    I would throw out the cheese and yogurts...maybe not the cheese depending on the kind. That's just me though. I can be a bit funny with dairy products.

    Eggs are fine at room temperature though and they last quite awhile anyway.
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
    you're okay. i'd keep everything. it might go bad a bit sooner than it would have otherwise, but I don't see anything that would cause concern. It may not have been as cold in the fridge, but the fridge would have run all night and kept pumping out the chilled air. If anything, sniff test the stuff that was in the door. In my house we sniff, then taste is were not sure. Never hurt anybody.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    I would've just shut the door when I noticed it and not given it a second of thought for the rest of all my days.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
    I've left cheese on the counter overnight and just put it back in the fridge. I keep the kitchen very clean and never cross-contaminate raw meat to veggies or things like that, but I don't worry too much about something getting left out and put away later so your situation definitely wouldn't worry me (except maybe for milk and raw meats).
  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    Eggs will be fine as you shouldn't store them in the fridge anyway.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    fr33sia12 wrote: »
    Everything should be fine, just check the milk and yogurt, I think you can tell by smell if it's bad.

    This ^^

    Eggs have a very long shelf life even at room temperature as long as the shell is not cracked. Heck, if I'm really busy I sometimes don't even go get eggs from our coop until the next day in the heat of summer and then they may not get eaten for several days.
  • crystalnichle
    crystalnichle Posts: 126 Member
    does everything feel cold? if it still feels cold I would say its probably fine.
  • sallygroundhog
    sallygroundhog Posts: 133 Member
    My refrigerator is broken.
    I think all the condiments and jellies and fermented vegetables will be ok. I will check them when my fridge is fixed. Some chicken in the freezer is still frozen, and I'm going to cook it today. Yoghurt should also be fine; it will just make more yoghurt bacteria.
    I'm considering boiling the eggs. I've heard that eggs will keep out of refrigeration as long as they've never been refrigerated, but once they have been refrigerated, they need to stay refrigerated. I don't know if this is true. I think they are pretty safe as long as they are in their uncracked shells.
    Repair man is coming on Tuesday.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I go by smell. If it smells off or spoiled, I chuck it. I've eaten food from a fridge that had no power for 2 days and no issues.
  • MamaFunky
    MamaFunky Posts: 735 Member
    I agree with the others that you would be fine. We have had that happen before. My husband and I would still eat/drink the food but I would probably not give it to my kids. If your unsure you could still at least cook something to use up the milk/yogurts. The other stuff would be fine.
  • TylerMJ76
    TylerMJ76 Posts: 21 Member
    I wouldn't throw any of it out... you should see how careless I was in college about stuff like this...
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    We throw out too much food unnecessarily. I would have just closed the door and kept it moving.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    suzyjane1972 wrote: »
    Eggs will be fine as you shouldn't store them in the fridge anyway.

    Depends on where you live. In the U.S. eggs go in the fridge.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm a real germaphobe. If it were me I'd dump the soy milk and yoghurt if they're open, keep them if they haven't been opened (but that's my paranoia in action). I wouldn't worry about the rest, except if the fruits or veggies are damp, there might be bacterial growth. If so, I'd wash them well before using them. I read somewhere recently that most cases of food poisoning happen because of E. Coli on produce rather than dairy or egg products going "off". That's apparently what caused the poisonings at the Chipotle chain a few months ago.

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