Are my leftovers safe?

[Cookies Galore]

Big storms yesterday, power out from roughly 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (when the LOUD TV in the living turning on woke me up). I'm going to toss a lot of food tonight to be safe, but what about my Mexican leftovers I brought to work today? We obviously had to eat out last night and I hot cheese enchiladas with mole sauce. Quickly put them in the fridge around 9 p.m. I was just reading a out power outages and tossing food, and now I'm paranoid I'm going to make myself sick, but it might be worth it.

[andi9899]

Was it still fairly cold when the lights came back on? If so, I would think it would be ok. If not, toss it.

[cktc]

Assuming you weren't opening the fridge during the outage, and the left overs don't have meat, I'd say it's safe.

[Cookies Galore]

Yes. I think. When I got out of bed to turn off the TV I checked to see if the fridge got warm. Butter was still solid. I'm really hungry now so I figured I'd ask first! This is seriously awesome Mexican. Lol.

[Deleted]

We have regular power outages and what the power company published to us was 4 hours for fridge. I throw out everything. Make sure you toss the mayo!!
Keep stuff like bread, ketchup, bbq sauce, soy sauce, fruits & veg.

Freezer should be okay for that amount of time, so lucky you don't have to deal with that.

Go buy yourself a take out mexican to make up for loss of the leftovers!

I don't take chances on this. 

[Cookies Galore]

We don't get long power outages often, hence the obvious questions.

[midjd]

Try a small bit and wait for about 30 min. If you don't get the cold sweats, you're fine. 

I have eaten string mozzarella that has been in my unrefrigerated purse for most of the day, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Deleted]

www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html  here's a website on the topic.

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 24, 2015 11:09:59 GMT -5 midjd said:

Try a small bit and wait for about 30 min. If you don't get the cold sweats, you're fine. 

I have eaten string mozzarella that has been in my unrefrigerated purse for most of the day, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm of thought that if I left it on my counter all night then I'd still eat it. Lol.

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 24, 2015 11:12:21 GMT -5 @rockit said:

www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html  here's a website on the topic.

I already read that, which is what made me question the leftovers. I really just wanted confirmation that I was paranoid. Haha.

[Deleted]

You aren't paranoid and I'm not sure why people are saying that putting warm leftovers in a fridge that isn't cooling would be okay to eat the next day. 

[Cookies Galore]

Because they're really good! This isn't some chain Tex Mex crap, it's legit awesome food and it makes me sad to part with it.

[Tennesseer]

Its too late know but next time this hapoens, and if you have a mysterious (or known) co-worker who raids the office refrigerator and eats othe co-workers' lunches, bring two containers to work and see if he eats one of them first.  Watch to see if he doubles over with stomach and intestinal cramps.

[Tiny]

Jun 24, 2015 10:59:52 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Big storms yesterday, power out from roughly 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (when the LOUD TV in the living turning on woke me up). I'm going to toss a lot of food tonight to be safe, but what about my Mexican leftovers I brought to work today? We obviously had to eat out last night and I hot cheese enchiladas with mole sauce. Quickly put them in the fridge around 9 p.m. I was just reading a out power outages and tossing food, and now I'm paranoid I'm going to make myself sick, but it might be worth it.

Well, I've got a great digestive system.  Odds are very good that in your situation - I would just nuke the Mexican leftovers and eat them.  But, I have friends who would probably get food poisoning just from LOOKING at the leftovers.  

So, I don't think you are being paranoid... but I do think you need to consider your own gut microbiome... and how well it's done it's job in the past?      


As for the other stuff in your fridge the government site posted is very helpful.   I truly would toss out any uncooked meats/lunch meat that was in your fridge.  I'd probably evaluate any cheeses on a package by package basis.  I'd also probably evaluate any yogurts on a package by package basis - and if I could use it up in the next few days.   The frozen stuff is worth taking a chance on - since it probably didn't defrost.  I would plan on using up any frozen raw meats in a timely fashion (versus assuming the stuff is going to be good for another 6 months now that it's refrozen.)

FWIW:  I've taken a cup of yogurt to work in my insulated lunch bag where it spent the day (about 9-10 hours), not eaten the yogurt - taken it back home, re-refridgerated it, tried again a second day, returned it back to the fridge and then a third day of not eating it... only to consume it on the 4th day.      I was fine... and the yogurt was tasty. I've done this more than once. I attempted it with yogurt I had put into a small tuperware container and it got kinda scary after two days of warm/cold cycling. The prepackage UNOPENED cups of yogurt weren't bothered by the warm up/chill/warm up cycles.
But then I have no gastro intestinal issues - pretty much never.   So my gut's pretty iron clad.

[ArchietheDragon]

It is fine. People get too crazy about this kind of stuff. Worse case scenario you are shitting your brains out.

[Cookies Galore]

I'm already planning on tossing stuff tonight, currently eating the leftovers and they're awesome.
There was a phone typo in the OP, it says hot cheese but should say got cheese. Food was room temp by the time we got home. The government site made me paranoid.

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 24, 2015 11:48:05 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

It is fine. People get too crazy about this kind of stuff. Worse case scenario you are shitting your brains out.

So I might lose those stubborn five pounds?

[ArchietheDragon]

Jun 24, 2015 11:49:25 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Jun 24, 2015 11:48:05 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

It is fine. People get too crazy about this kind of stuff. Worse case scenario you are shitting your brains out.

So I might lose those stubborn five pounds?

The classic Beans Gone Wild  diet. 

[wvugurl26]

Jun 24, 2015 11:49:25 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Jun 24, 2015 11:48:05 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

It is fine. People get too crazy about this kind of stuff. Worse case scenario you are shitting your brains out.

So I might lose those stubborn five pounds?

I lost ten pounds one week like that. Bad allergic reaction one day and food poisoning the next.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 24, 2015 11:49:25 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Jun 24, 2015 11:48:05 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

It is fine. People get too crazy about this kind of stuff. Worse case scenario you are shitting your brains out.

So I might lose those stubborn five pounds?

Happened to me after a trip to and eating food in Egypt. Lost about ten pounds a week for three weeks. Had to get refitted for a wedding groomsman tuxedo. The 10-12 bathroom visits a day stopped the day of the wedding. I was concerned about that.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

It's too late to warn you, but personal experience has shown that food poisoning also comes in the form of violent vomiting--I mean the "kill me now --nothing is coming out anymore yet I am still wretching uncontrollably" variety.



Aren't you one of the people who refuse to throw up no matter how sick you feel?

Between last year's tree fall and 2 rental fridges that managed to die on us since (Aaron's totally sucks!), we have a new family motto:  when in doubt, throw it out.   [img src=" src="http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png">

[tskeeter]

Jun 24, 2015 10:59:52 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Big storms yesterday, power out from roughly 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (when the LOUD TV in the living turning on woke me up). I'm going to toss a lot of food tonight to be safe, but what about my Mexican leftovers I brought to work today? We obviously had to eat out last night and I hot cheese enchiladas with mole sauce. Quickly put them in the fridge around 9 p.m. I was just reading a out power outages and tossing food, and now I'm paranoid I'm going to make myself sick, but it might be worth it.

Cookies, home sausage makers follow a rule of thumb that is based on USDA food safety guidelines.  I think the rule of thumb should be applied in your situation.

The rule of thumb is to have food between 40 degrees and 140 degrees for no more than four hours.  This temperature range is the range at which bacteria in your food (all food has some bacteria) multiplies the fastest.  And the four hours is cumulative.  So if you have something in the danger temperature range for two hours, cool it down to below 40 degrees, then allow it to spend three hours back in the danger temperature range, you have exceeded the four hours.

Some products are more of a food safety issue than others.  Anything that is ground up while raw is higher risk because grinding transports bacteria from the surface of the food into the center of food, where it takes food  longer to reach a temperature above 140 degrees.  So, ground beef is higher risk than a steak (any bacteria on the surface of a steak will be subjected to high heat as soon as you begin to cook it).  Ground chicken or turkey is a higher risk than turkey breast or a chicken breast.  This same concept applies to the shredded cheese that your cheese enchiladas were probably made with.  Shredding the cheese transports bacteria throughout the cheese, instead of having bacteria just on the surface of a chunk of cheese.

In your case, I'd get rid of the enchiladas.  Even though you put the enchiladas in the non-functioning refrigerator, I don't think the enchiladas cooled down fast enough.  (Note that your enchiladas were probably in the temperature danger zone for an hour, during your dinner and the trip home.  So you had about three hours from the time you put the enchiladas in the refrigerator to get them to below 40 degrees.)  Refrigerators depend on air movement to cool food more quickly.  When your power went out, the fan in your refrigerator stopped working, so no movement of cold air over the enchiladas, to cool them down.  This means that a pool of enchilada heated air formed around your enchiladas, increasing the time it took to cool them down.  Then add the further complication that the enchiladas were probably brought home in a styrofoam box, which insulated the enchiladas and helped to keep their temperature in the danger zone for a longer period of time.

The other food in your refrigerator?  It's most likely OK.  The mass of cold food would probably keep the refrigerator cold enough for 12 hours or more, as is indicated by the fact that the butter was not soft when you checked it.

For others that find yourself in a similar situation, leave the refrigerator shut and throw out your leftovers.  If you open the refrigerator, all of the cold air in the refrigerator spills out onto the kitchen floor and is replaced by room temperature air.  Then, the cold food in your refrigerator absorbs heat from the air until the temperatures are equal, warming up your food.  Adding warm leftovers to a non-functioning refrigerator introduces a bunch more heat to the refrigerator that the cold food must absorb.  Two strikes against safe food handling practices.    

[Deleted]

I thought cookies were her kryptonite from the new name. Might need to change to Tex-Mex Galore!! 

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 24, 2015 12:00:19 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

It's too late to warn you, but personal experience has shown that food poisoning also comes in the form of violent vomiting--I mean the "kill me now --nothing is coming out anymore yet I am still wretching uncontrollably" variety.



Aren't you one of the people who refuse to throw up no matter how sick you feel?

Between last year's tree fall and 2 rental fridges that managed to die on us since (Aaron's totally sucks!), we have a new family motto:  when in doubt, throw it out.   [img src=" src="http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png">

Oh no, I vomit way too easily. I once threw up in a trash can on the street when someone hocked a loogie in front of me.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't worry about it.  I mean I bring my food to work everyday and it sits in a half-assed insulated lunch box on my desk for 5 or 6 hours until I go nuke it.  Turkey, mayo, yogurt...whatever.   I'm sure the stuff in your fridge stayed a lot cooler than that.  Then again, maybe I have a cast iron stomach, I don't know.

[saveinla]

My friend leaves her leftovers outside and eats them for breakfast or lunch without even heating it up and we live in So Cal. I would not worry about it, if it was in the fridge - just nuke it enough so it gets hot and eat it. 

[lexxy703]

Jun 24, 2015 11:14:16 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Jun 24, 2015 11:09:59 GMT -5 midjd said:

Try a small bit and wait for about 30 min. If you don't get the cold sweats, you're fine. 

I have eaten string mozzarella that has been in my unrefrigerated purse for most of the day, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm of thought that if I left it on my counter all night then I'd still eat it. Lol.

I was about to post that I eat pizza that has sat out all night & I usually leave my Mexican leftovers sitting on my desk all afternoon before taking home & refrigerating.  So personally I'd go for it.

If you get food poisoning I'm deleting this post

[weltschmerz]

Jun 24, 2015 11:05:50 GMT -5 @rockit said:

We have regular power outages and what the power company published to us was 4 hours for fridge. I throw out everything. Make sure you toss the mayo!!
Keep stuff like bread, ketchup, bbq sauce, soy sauce, fruits & veg.

Freezer should be okay for that amount of time, so lucky you don't have to deal with that.

Go buy yourself a take out mexican to make up for loss of the leftovers!

I don't take chances on this. 

From what I understand, mayo itself isn't much of a culprit. However, mixed with other food, like chicken in chicken salad, it becomes an excellent growth medium for the bacteria in the chicken.

[tskeeter]

Jun 24, 2015 11:45:18 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Jun 24, 2015 10:59:52 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Big storms yesterday, power out from roughly 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (when the LOUD TV in the living turning on woke me up). I'm going to toss a lot of food tonight to be safe, but what about my Mexican leftovers I brought to work today? We obviously had to eat out last night and I hot cheese enchiladas with mole sauce. Quickly put them in the fridge around 9 p.m. I was just reading a out power outages and tossing food, and now I'm paranoid I'm going to make myself sick, but it might be worth it.

Well, I've got a great digestive system.  Odds are very good that in your situation - I would just nuke the Mexican leftovers and eat them.  But, I have friends who would probably get food poisoning just from LOOKING at the leftovers.  

So, I don't think you are being paranoid... but I do think you need to consider your own gut microbiome... and how well it's done it's job in the past?      


As for the other stuff in your fridge the government site posted is very helpful.   I truly would toss out any uncooked meats/lunch meat that was in your fridge.  I'd probably evaluate any cheeses on a package by package basis.  I'd also probably evaluate any yogurts on a package by package basis - and if I could use it up in the next few days.   The frozen stuff is worth taking a chance on - since it probably didn't defrost.  I would plan on using up any frozen raw meats in a timely fashion (versus assuming the stuff is going to be good for another 6 months now that it's refrozen.)

FWIW:  I've taken a cup of yogurt to work in my insulated lunch bag where it spent the day (about 9-10 hours), not eaten the yogurt - taken it back home, re-refridgerated it, tried again a second day, returned it back to the fridge and then a third day of not eating it... only to consume it on the 4th day.      I was fine... and the yogurt was tasty. I've done this more than once. I attempted it with yogurt I had put into a small tuperware container and it got kinda scary after two days of warm/cold cycling. The prepackage UNOPENED cups of yogurt weren't bothered by the warm up/chill/warm up cycles.
But then I have no gastro intestinal issues - pretty much never.   So my gut's pretty iron clad.

Tiny, your yogurt is kind of a special case, when it comes to food safety.  It can tolerate more abuse before it spoils than many food items. 

I spent nearly 10 years working in a yogurt plant and learned a bit about how yogurt is made and how different production processes are used to retard spoilage.  First, the milk used in yogurt is pasturized to destroy most of the bacteria.  (That's why milk lasts so much longer before it spoils now, than it did 50 years ago, when pasturization processes weren't as effective.)  Then it is fermented at a temperature above the temperature danger zone.  That might reduce the bacteria level even further.  That tangy taste you enjoy?  That's the acid that develops as part of the fermentation process.  Bacteria growth is slower in acidic foods than in foods that aren't acidic.  Finally, we layed a blanket on nitrogen (an inert gas) on the top of each package of yogurt before the lid was applied.  The absence of oxygen in the cup further discouraged spoilage.

That said, I don't think that I would make a practice of subjecting yogurt to several long cycles of warming before eating it.  So far you've been lucky.  Sooner or later, it's going to catch up with you big time.  Find a way to keep the yogurt well cooled, or throw it out if it has been subjected to more than a couple of hours at 40 degrees or above. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 24, 2015 12:25:54 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jun 24, 2015 11:05:50 GMT -5 @rockit said:

We have regular power outages and what the power company published to us was 4 hours for fridge. I throw out everything. Make sure you toss the mayo!!
Keep stuff like bread, ketchup, bbq sauce, soy sauce, fruits & veg.

Freezer should be okay for that amount of time, so lucky you don't have to deal with that.

Go buy yourself a take out mexican to make up for loss of the leftovers!

I don't take chances on this. 

From what I understand, mayo itself isn't much of a culprit. However, mixed with other food, like chicken in chicken salad, it becomes an excellent growth medium for the bacteria in the chicken.

Mayo is fairly acidic and itself doesn't promote bacterial growth.  It's got a pH of around 3.  You're right, it's the other stuff that promotes growth.