Chicken left out over night? eat or no?

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!

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!!

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.)

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!

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.

I wouldn't chance it.

im sure it would be fine, what did people do in the old days !

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.

When in doubt, throw it out.

^^^^^ This.^^^^

I'd rather waste some chicken than risk getting sick.

im sure it would be fine, what did people do in the old days !

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

if I was the County Health Department...that's a big ol' write up. But I'm not. I don't think I'd risk it, though, anyway.

I wouldn't chance it.

Agreed!

update.. smelled great, microwaved and tasted great also!!!

Ewwwww. Just sayin. I hope you dodged the food poisoning.

I took a food safety course and say: Definitely wouldn't eat it. the moisture in the chicken will be a play-ground for lovely little bacteria. Bleh.

Sniff test!

words of wisdom, If in doubt always follow your nose