I have to say, I have rarely (if ever) heard of anyone getting sick from eating unrefrigerated left-overs. Usually people get sick from food preparation.

Anyhow, when I was a kid we used to leave the pizza on the counter in the box and eat it the next day. Nobody died. We also ate bologna sandwiches that had been in our locker for four hours without refrigeration. Nobody died.

Use your own judgment.

I doubt it too. I'm going to predict that the vast majority here will go for the shorter time. Those questions are always coming up about whether food is safe to eat or not, and 99 times out of a hundred, "throw it out" is the concencus. I never comment on those threads because I'm always thinking, I'd eat it! And I have!

I know, I know, the one time I get sick, I'll see the error of my ways, better safe than sorry, etc. But that's the way I am, I hate waste and unless my sense of sight, smell, and/or touch tell me that it's bad or questionable, I usually eat it.

So I'm not going to name a number. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting sick (except myself!) which is why I never weigh in on those threads! But I do like reading the other answers!

Leftover pizza is usually put in the fridge (on the rare occasion there IS any leftover!) but it's also been tucked inside the oven in its box for the night when there's no room in the fridge and been eaten the next day just fine.

Unless you're talking the blistering heat of summer, I don't see a problem with some things being out for a longish amount of time, well past the recommended amount. My house stays quite cool as I love air conditioning, so it's not like it's been sitting in 90 degree heat. And yes - I would say the particular food you're talking about matters. Alot. I wouldn't eat something with mayo in it that's been sitting out all night, but other things are fine. Of course, you need to do what you're comfortable with! Hubby's cousin has a cabin up in the deep woods in Maine with no electricity, so no refrigeration. We bring coolers and lots of ice to store food for the weekend. We've decided to stay an extra day here and there and by that time, the ice has been long gone and some things are no longer cold - no one ever had a problem. The human gut is prepared for a lot!! Again - it's what you're comfortable with that matters.

Lisa

I agree with stir_fryi if he's not getting sick, don't worry about it. My kids used to eat stuff like that all the time and never got sick; usually lunch they left in their locker all day and ate when they got home. If he can stand it, more power to him.

There are cheese breads, for example, made with the same ingredients as pizza that you would probably leave out without giving it a second thought.

How timely, in a way. This actually doesn't have anything to do with leaving food out. Last night I fixed Parmesan crusted tilapia for dinner. Okay....maybe poor planning, but I had been working in the yard and herb garden a good part of the day so nothing had been done in advance. The Parmesan mixture was, of course parmesan, and Ritz crackers, oyster crackers, fresh herbs,... thyme,chives and Italian parsley. My question is about the breading mixture....there was enough left to use for 2 more tilapia filets at another time so I put it in a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer. Would it still be safe to use??? What do you think?

jude

The Food Safety Classes I've taken suggest 2-hours at room temperature and if the ambient temperature is 90°F or warmer, then 1-hour. "Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold" and the the danger zone for hot and cold foods - 40°F to 140°F. Naturally, there are foods that aren't as perishable as others and they all need the right conditions for a microorganism, that is present in food, to form a toxin.

There are four categories of foodborne illness agents or contaminants:

1. Bacteria
2. Viruses
3. Parasites
4. Food Toxins

The right foods under the right conditions Roulette... Clostridium botulinum can develop into a toxin in foil-wrapped baked potatoes - something people wouldn't consider as perishable and prone to bacterial growth as other foods. This can happen in your refrigerator. Because the symptoms of botulism may develop anywhere between eight hours to eight days after ingesting the toxin (most commonly within 12-48-hours), it's symptoms can often be mistaken for flu - long after the food was consumed.

You may find some supporting information in the Fact Sheets at the link below. If that doesn't work, make an appointment with someone from your local health department for more information.

For all of us who has ever suffered "food poisoning", you REALLY never want to chance it again, so I'm a food safety freak.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Fact Sheets

I'm always surprised to see this kind of question.

The reality in the restaurant industry is to simply put food away (into the refrigerator or the freezer) as soon as possible. There's no question of time or ingredients.

There's too many variables to even think about: Ingredients, timing, counter and whole house sanitation and so much more. Including one's own immune system.

Bacteria, fungi, etc., start to grow IMMEDIATELY. They don't start when the time clock reaches one hour, or two hours or four hours. They don't read the books.

Full-blown "food poisoning" that can be diagnosed as such (or given the opportunity for diagnosis) is relatively rare. Dying from it, even rarer. But all degrees of "feeling a little sick" are common -- and we almost never link it to the food we ate.

Would anyone go to a restaurant that was known to "leave its food out"?

I don't think it boils down to a matter of waste. At home, it's wise to get into the habit of putting food away. As soon as possible. I don't understand why anyone would even create the situation that begs the question "Is this still good".

Joe

Since I've never studied it and therefore have limited knowledge, I'd consider myself an amateur food safety freak. If I forget which side of the tongs touched the raw side of the cutlet I flipped, those tongs get cleaned before risking touching the cooked side of another. Etc. ad infinitum.

That said, I readily acknowledge that 99% of everyone I know is infinitely less cautious and would think nothing of eating something that's been on the counter all day. Do they get sick more than I do. Nope.

As for the pizza out all night, even if I thought it safe I wouldn't eat it for its being gross at this point.

Here was my latest quandry. Wednesday I wanted to make meatballs. I sauteed the onions in oil, added garlic, once done let them cool. Got distracted (I HATE work) and realized a couple hours later that I wouldn't finish them. The onions and garlic were on the counter. It was all I could do to muster up the courage to cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. Of course all the garlic/oil/botulism threads flashed in my mind. That was my idea of extreme!

No expert here, but common sense says that while pizza might be fine, something else such as roast chicken wouldn't. If you think about it, pizza is often just a bread (crust), tomato sauce which is pretty acidic, cheese which doesn't really often have to be refrigerated much anyway and processed meats such as sausage/pepperoni that are chock full of preservatives/salt etc.

I wouldn't eat meats and seafood that had been unrefrigerated overnight.... but pepperoni could probably stay out for a while longer.

Grace

I'm confused.

Do you want him to get food poisoning or prevent him?

I would never eat hamburger or sausage that had spent hours on the counter...
Pepperoni likely wouldn't make you sick....but who wants to eat dried out pizza?
I thought you and Ed were a "Was".
You back together??
Linda C

I like Grainladies Studies And

Joe's :
Common Sense Approach !!!

Maybe because I think like that too.

I've eaten Pizza slices that have sat for an hour or so.

I dampen them and into the Toaster Oven. Just like new!!!

But Fish and other things that go fast , Forget it !

If there is any fresh Pizza Leftover ??? It gets wrapped and into the freezer, Pronto !!!

A friend and I threw some meat and scraps into a trash can
one day and went fishing for a few hours.

When we came back and were eating lunch,
there was a strange odor coming from the outside step landing.

He looked at me and ran to the trash can, opened it and almost barfed.

The smell could have knocked a Buzzard off a Honey Cart. And that was only a few hours.

- - - - - - - - - -
You are right !!! this won't ever be Settled, it will keep
popping up.
- - - - - - - - - - -

Like you people always say, " When in Doubt, Throw it OUT "

Lou

Let your husband worry about it :) My husband used to leave mayo, lunch meat, etc sitting on the counter. I would put it up, but sometimes I came home & it was on the counter. I got my own little jar of mayo & hid it in the back of the fridge & eventually got tired of putting his stuff back in the fridge. Sometimes I know it sat out for hours. Somewhere along the line he must have suffered ill effect, these days it goes back in the fridge pretty quick.

I was mostly chiding since this question gets asked a blue million times, but also wanted personal justifications from the experts because you all are so much more serious about food (after all, not everyone carries around pepper mills in their purse!). I guess from what I see here, to each their own. I am a put it away kinda gal, I just worry he'll poison himself or the kiddo some day with being so cavalier about it.
-Robin

P.S. I care about the silly gus no matter how non-thinking he can be, Jessy, even if he's somewhere else. I don't hate him, and even missed him when I graduated last week, since he didn't attend (yes he was invited, he's supported my finishing my degree verbally, finncially, emotionally, any way he could), but heck no, I would never get back with him. Incidentally, because I am "legal-by-the-book" kinda gal, no calling him an ex until he is (shortly), as he is still, regardless of our desire to be otherwise, my husband.

To be honest, I put food away as soon as I can. We eat and then I put it away. I don't leave anything out and that is what I prefer to do.