I'm not sure, but I think the temperature in your kitchen would make a difference.

Air conditioner has been on, so the kitchen stays around 69 or 70.

Food safe course says meat, fish and eggs should be thrown away if left out in the danger zone for more than 2 hours danger zone is above 4C

It is amazing I am not dead yet for breaking the rules. I regularly thaw meat on the counter.

This post was edited by CLBlakey on Wed, Jul 10, 13 at 23:54

Like Annie, I've broken the rules too. But fish? No. I'm very picky about fish to begin with and only buy fish that I am going to cook the same day. I don't freeze fish.

I know I wouldn't eat fish that had been left out on the counter for five hours so I definitely would not freeze fish that had been left out that long.

~Ann

I am not recommending this to anyone.

I have been to many areas where warm meat is out all day in hot tropical weather in markets. Flies, bugs ----. When the meat gets a little smelly, they just wash it.

Again, just for myself, not suggesting for anyone else.

I use the smell test if food has been out of the refrigerator too long.

Fish and other seafood are different, texture deteriorates rapidly if not cooked right away.

I think I have gotten minor stomach discomfort maybe only twice in my entire life.

dcarch

I'm also pretty picky about fish. I'd be pissed too. Fish is expensive. Also depends where it was purchased. I buy wild caught salmon frozen as most is flash-frozen anyway, then thawed at the market. All shrimp is frozen, then thawed and spread out on ice. I always buy it frozen.
(a few exceptions in some areas if you meet the boat)
Did you sniff it before freezing?
I just thawed my last cod fillet yesterday for dinner tonight. Just gave it a rinse this morning and it has zero smell. The freezer bag it was in and under the sink in the small 'stink' garbage can was pretty rank after about 6hrs and had to go out to the garbage can last night.

dcarch - Yes! Huge chunks of meat inside and outside butcher shops on hooks with a cloud of flies around them. The more hygienic minded butchers would spray them with DDT.

I'm talking about certain parts of the Middle East about 50 years ago.

It was Alaskan wild salmon and wild cod, argh. What a waste. Only reason I froze it upon discovery was just in case there was a chance I might be able to use it anyway. But after reading all of the above and also checking some food safety sites, I am not gonna use it. $20 is not worth getting food poisoning. Darn, I still can't believe I did that. No more letting myself be distracted when putting groceries away.

Goodness, I'd eat it in a heartbeat.

You are going to cook it, aren't you? At the very least, use it in a chowder or stew or soup.

That's good stuff.

Otherwise, give it to the wildlife. Let it go back into the food chain.

This post was edited by momj47 on Thu, Jul 11, 13 at 11:49

After DH's recent bout with campylobacteriosis there is no way we would eat that fish. But, you're right. It's a bummer. I would give it to the wildlife. They may, or may not, eat it. Barring that, I'd plant it in the garden - great fertilizer.

/tricia

Let's ask JohnL. Hahaha!

Well, I would thaw it (not on the counter :-) and smell it. Fish lets you know if it's bad when it's raw and gets stinky. If it's not stinky and you cook it thoroughly, I can't imagine how it could make you sick. I'd use it in a heartbeat and I am very fussy about fish.

I think whether it spoiled or not might also depend on your source, i.e. how fresh it was. If you got it from a fish market that gets it frequently and it's very fresh, vs something sitting in the supermarket for a few days.

It was previously frozen and thawed for sale at the fish counter. By the time I bought it, it was fully thawed. I did have it put on ice to take home, but had discarded the ice when I took it out to portion it. Re. giving it to the critters, I know dogs do eat rotten stuff, but our lab has a sensitive stomach and I don't want to risk any gastric upset. He weighs 120 pounds and it's like cleaning up after a person, very gross. :o) We just had a fat kitty vet bill, so not gonna risk giving it to the cats either. I will put it out for whatever wild critters want it. Oh well, next time we make a trip to Trader Joe's, gonna stock up on their frozen Alaskan Salmon. And try to remember to put it in the freezer. :o)

I wouldn't give it to my pets. I put my leftovers, etc, out back, in the woods. Lots of animals eat carrion. We should have immune systems like vultures!

This post was edited by momj47 on Thu, Jul 11, 13 at 19:27

Petra, I didn't realize that this was previously frozen thawed fish. I don't know what others here do, but I would never refreeze meats or fish that had already been frozen once and thawed.

It is really too bad, you had to throw it out. But at least your neighbourhood critters will enjoy.

~Ann

LOL around here $20 of wasted fish would be drop in the bucket as compared to cooling the house to 69 degrees!

As I leave my home and drive down Atlantic Ave., the ocean is on the right, and palmettos are the left. There's a vulture that has chosen one of the telephone poles as a lookout station. Other brothers (and sisters) are stationed on strategic poles along the beach. Creepy!

I thought it was bad that last year we had an osprey that sat on a light pole across the street and to eat breakfast and lunch on top of the light. Glad I didn't have to clean up the area under the light. I forgot to ask where he ate dinner.

Sorry this happened to you, but something out there won't be affected.

69 degrees! Lucky you. Our limit is 79.

I do re-freeze but not that often. It did take a while to accept it but something i read said it was fine. I did buy shrimp recently and dinner plans got side-tracted so i tossed it in the freezer with its ice.

$20 worth of fish on the counter for five hours in an air conditioned house? I'd cook it and eat for sure. However, I don't freeze fish either. I buy it the day I plan to cook it and only get as much as I will use for that meal.

Just give it the old whiff test. Your nose knows.

I don't worry about the cost of air conditioning because I don't have air conditioning, saves me a ton of money, LOL. If that salmon were some of my own wild caught salmon I might give it a shot, but definitely not something that was already frozen, then thawed.

Cooper LOVES fish and the vet says it's good for him so I'd still use it for dog food. Darned expensive dog food...

Given your dog's propensities, though, I'd probably use it for compost. I don't suppose you have a garden? The Native Americans have always dropped a chunk of fish in the corn rows, it's great fertilizer.

Annie

Air conditioner is usually kept at 76. But sometimes hot flashes demand a quick cooling off, especially after carrying groceries in from 95 degrees. :o)
There are no woods closeby, but I threw the frozen fish out in the front and it was gone this morning. We do have lots of wild creatures who hopefully won't get ill from it.

I seem to remember, those times when I was in Paris, there were many stores which sold meat without refrigeration.

Wild pheasants, boars, other games just hung in front of the stores.

dcarch

I did run some errands today and when home and 'hauling' i did sneak it down to 76. : )
My pups would get a meal of that fish for sure. After a sniff test. Their guts/digestion are a bit more forgiving. No critter will get ill.

dcarch, in Europe meat was sometimes hung right in the shop to age. That could have been the case with the wild game. Haven't seen fish left out though.
Sleevendog, when we had to replace the air conditioner, we had a heat pump installed. Our area does get kinda cold in winter, but it doesn't constantly stay below freezing, so the pump works fine. It saves quite a bit of money on electricity.

Annie, we do have a small garden area with tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Guess that'll have to wait for my next forgetful episode. :o)
I once read that a famous rose authority/gardening book author (maybe Gertrude Jekyll, can't remember for sure) had her gardener murder a rabbit each time she wanted to plant a new rose, to put in the planting hole. :o

I agree with many others. I used to break major rules regarding food safety (now I only defrost in the fridge or a sink of very cold water, which works very well), but having had major food poisoning, I wouldn't risk fish or seafood that had been left out for five hours. Fish doesn't take very long to defrost, so wouldn't want to risk it, unless you had air conditioning on in your house. As bad as $20 is, food poisoning is way worse and likely to turn you off of fish forever :)

petra, the tomatoes and peppers probably would have loved it, unless your dog got "wind" of it and dug it up. Then maybe neither you nor your garden would be happy. (grin)

Annie