question about food safety and party leftovers

dragthewaters1991
dragthewaters1991 Posts: 45 Member
edited November 24 in Food and Nutrition
I went to a party today and brought a salad -- lettuce, tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, and radish. There was no dressing on the salad directly (the dressings were on the side), so it was basically just cut raw vegetables. There was a small amount of salad left that I took home. I also took home some leftover hummus that I brought. These items were out of the fridge for a little over 4 hours total. Is it still safe to eat the remaining salad and hummus or should I throw it away? I know people say hummus is pretty shelf-stable but I haven't been able to find much on cut raw vegetables.

(And yes, I know about the two-hour rule, but that's a conservative professional standard guideline, I'm asking more about your personal experience with party leftovers that have been out for a few hours).

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,328 Member
    I'll be honest, I eat stuff that's been out of the fridge for way longer than it officially should be and have never had a problem. I can't imagine that vegetables would be an issue - they're barely refrigerated in supermarkets and the markets I go to they're not refrigerated at all. I know that's when they are whole, but *shrug*. So long as it's still appealing (I detest wilty salad), it wouldn't occur to me not to eat it.

    Same with Hummas. TBH, I've eaten it next morning after its been on the coffee table all night
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member
    If the salad isn’t wilted and no one sneezed on it, I would eat it.
  • dragthewaters1991
    dragthewaters1991 Posts: 45 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I'll be honest, I eat stuff that's been out of the fridge for way longer than it officially should be and have never had a problem. I can't imagine that vegetables would be an issue - they're barely refrigerated in supermarkets and the markets I go to they're not refrigerated at all. I know that's when they are whole, but *shrug*. So long as it's still appealing (I detest wilty salad), it wouldn't occur to me not to eat it.

    Same with Hummas. TBH, I've eaten it next morning after its been on the coffee table all night

    Yeah I looked it up and several people said they left hummus out overnight and someone said they even took it camping for two days and it was fine. So I'm not as concerned about that. It's more the cut vegetables I want advice on. I would rather avoid throwing food away if I don't have to.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,328 Member
    dragthewaters1991 wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I'll be honest, I eat stuff that's been out of the fridge for way longer than it officially should be and have never had a problem. I can't imagine that vegetables would be an issue - they're barely refrigerated in supermarkets and the markets I go to they're not refrigerated at all. I know that's when they are whole, but *shrug*. So long as it's still appealing (I detest wilty salad), it wouldn't occur to me not to eat it.

    Same with Hummas. TBH, I've eaten it next morning after its been on the coffee table all night

    Yeah I looked it up and several people said they left hummus out overnight and someone said they even took it camping for two days and it was fine. So I'm not as concerned about that. It's more the cut vegetables I want advice on. I would rather avoid throwing food away if I don't have to.

    I wouldn't be concerned with the cut veggies at all.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Unless someone draggedraw chicken all over the veggies or similar you're almost certainly fine.

    When in doubt - turn into stir-fry.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited February 2018
    I took a food microbiology class in college. I'd still eat that.

    Is it completely risk free? No, but the risk of getting sick from veggies that have been sitting out for a few hours is pretty low. I routinely wash veggies in the morning and then leave them in a colander or on a towel to dry while I'm at work, so I can cook them later for dinner.

    The hummus might give me a little more pause if I thought people had been double dipping, but otherwise I'd eat that too.
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