Chicken left out over night? eat or no?

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  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
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    Did you eat it?
  • judy20in2011
    judy20in2011 Posts: 143 Member
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    Is it safe to eat leftover food 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?

    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.
    (Sources: Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency; Fighting BAC!® by Chilling Out; Refrigeration and Food Safety.)

    FROM THE USDA web site! Hope it's helpful to all!
  • Tmrice721
    Tmrice721 Posts: 86 Member
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    Not a good idea to eat... but if you don't belive me ask the experts....

    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education/Ask_Karen/index.asp?src_location=IWT&src_page=Home
  • PinkEarthMama
    PinkEarthMama Posts: 987 Member
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    I wouldn't have eaten it. No way, no how. I wouldn't even eat pizza that had been left out. We even refridgerate our bread!!
  • Mawskittykat
    Mawskittykat Posts: 241 Member
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    It would be ashamed to waste your chicken but it would be more of a shame to get sick. I would throw it out
  • erikblock
    erikblock Posts: 230 Member
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    I would. But I know my thoughts on these matters aren't in line with the norm. I'll eat anything that doesn't look or smell like it's gone bad. (For example, I like leftover pizza better if it's not kept in the fridge, and I'll still eat it after it's been sitting on the counter for up to 3 days. And, actually, I would still eat it after even longer than that if it wasn't getting hard. So I might not be the best one to listen to here.) :)
  • ericabrothers
    ericabrothers Posts: 115
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    go ahead and eat it. it will help keep your immune system up to date :laugh: i would eat it :smile: i'm a nurse and have already decided when nuclear warfare breaks out it will be me and the cockroaches left. that or the govenment will take me and do tests on my immune system. i work in pediatrics and the only time i ever get sick is if i have a sinus infection. kids cough and sneeze on me all day long and i've been known to eat pizza that has been left out. like everyone else says, if it smells ok eat it.
  • krnlcsf
    krnlcsf Posts: 310
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    Its around 70 in my house but I think a little cooler... I like it cool!!!

    Its cooked with mushrooms...

    I am putting it back in the fridge for later... smell is ok!!!

    thanks :)

    so long as you reheat it long enough to kill anything that grew you should be okay... plus if you cooked it to an acceptable temperature in the first place, before leaving it out.
    my lunch for work often has chicken or other perishables that sit for 6-12 hours unrefrigerated in my lunch bag... havent had a problem so far!
  • judy20in2011
    judy20in2011 Posts: 143 Member
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    Not a good idea to eat... but if you don't belive me ask the experts....

    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education/Ask_Karen/index.asp?src_location=IWT&src_page=Home

    Great minds! We went right to the same site! :)
  • garnet1483
    garnet1483 Posts: 249 Member
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    Aw...this reminds me of a friend of mine. He cooks gumbo in a gargantuan pot that would no way fit into his fridge. He cooks it, eats some, leaves it on the stove, re-heats it, eats some more, leaves it on the stove...it'll sit there for three days sometimes, depending on how many people are eating it. No one's ever gotten sick, although from a today's health conscious standpoint, it's rather gross. But the bacteria are part of what make gumbo taste so good, disgusting as the thought is. Personally, I try not to leave food out over night, but since we keep the apartment pretty chilly to sleep, if I do, it's not the end of the world. The only thing I've ever thrown out, after leaving it out too long, was raw meat. And the only time I've ever gotten food poisoning (salmonella is EVIL) was from a contaminated water pitcher that was in the fridge.
  • dancingnancies
    dancingnancies Posts: 255 Member
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    no way!!! chicken is only good out on the counter for 4 hours or so. don't eat it! or eat it, if you are feeling adventurous.
  • neversettle
    neversettle Posts: 168 Member
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    I wouldn't chance it.
  • spaceys
    spaceys Posts: 58
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    throw. it. out. my dad's a food scientist.
  • hatravers
    hatravers Posts: 166 Member
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    im sure it would be fine, what did people do in the old days !
  • VoodooLuLu
    VoodooLuLu Posts: 636 Member
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    How warm was your house overnight? I ask because I've just woken up and I'm sure my house is the exact same temperature as my refrigerator...if you didn't have much in the way of heating on, it'll be fine at this time of year.


    this
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I would say no but if you are going to do it anyway, zap it in the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes just to be sure to kill off the bacteria.
  • MrsSullivan08
    MrsSullivan08 Posts: 274 Member
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    When in doubt, throw it out.


    AGREED!!!!
  • natalieg0307
    natalieg0307 Posts: 237 Member
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    When in doubt, throw it out.

    ^^^^^ This.^^^^

    I'd rather waste some chicken than risk getting sick.
  • murf19
    murf19 Posts: 453 Member
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    NO
  • CountryBoy65
    CountryBoy65 Posts: 908 Member
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    im sure it would be fine, what did people do in the old days !

    They died at 38 years old...usually from food poisoning.... :tongue:

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