# left groceries in the trunk for 2 hours **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 17, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132 "2016-09-17T02:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/21 "2016-09-17T18:35:22Z")
I wouldn’t hesitate to eat any of that food. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/22 "2016-09-17T20:02:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Unless it’s very warm when you finally unpack it then everything is probably ok. Get the stuff right in the fridge or freezer, something very perishable you might want to cook and eat right away, and make sure to cook thoroughly. I’d probably take the temperature of anything in question, but not everyone has an accurate thermometer handy. I’d expect the milk to go bad sooner, and like other perishables it depends on a lot of other factors though, how old was it when you bought it, how well was it kept at temperature before then, how well is it packaged. > > **Joey P** , didn’t they tell you to check stuff that was left out with a thermometer? If it’s still cold enough in the center you know it wasn’t left out that long (subject to the particular food type we’re talking about). If it’s (talking about cold food, for the moment) below 41, it’s safe, regardless. The problem is that if it’s above 41 and you don’t know how long it’s been there, you have an issue. Yes, I agree, and thought the same thing. They should have at least temped it first. Also, you said ‘you know it wasn’t left out that long’. Knowing when it was taken out of refrigeration and not knowing makes all the difference. That’s why I mentioned in my case that you don’t know how long it’s been out. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/23 "2016-09-18T01:29:00Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Stop worrying about your food, it is all fine, and if it’s not, that will be obvious to your senses – sight, smell, and common. > > I just got back from a 5-week trip, and I’ve eaten the eggs, potatoes, milk that I left in the fridge. They were fine. The best-by date on the milk is 7/23, I put it on my cereal this morning, it was thick and curdled and sour, but perfectly healthy and delicious. Cooked some potatoes last night, they had the appearance and surface texture of old avocadoes, but firm inside and I ate them, peels and all, and they actually get better when that old. A half-loaf of unsliced bread made nice French toast. > > The key is, don’t contaminate your opened food by touching it. Once you touch your bread, meat or dairy products, you contaminate them with mouth or fingertips and they will spoil quickly. But if still in the original package, they will last very well, although if once frozen, the texture of the product might be affected. I’m going to move past the milk thing, that’s just nasty. Bread, I guess if it’s not moldy, if it’s just stale, whatever. Eggs are actually good for 60 days, that’s 30 days past the expiration. You’re fine there. Now, the potato thing, I’m not sure what you mean when you say they looked like an avocado. But potatoes will go bad, they will rot, they will attract flies (and maggots), they will smell terrible and I have no idea if they’re safe to eat once they go bad. Potatoes are cheap, buy new potatoes. Regarding touching them, yes, that makes sense, but keep in mind that just because you didn’t touch them, doesn’t mean someone else didn’t. Your bread probably wasn’t touched but the meat you bought from the butcher probably was, your [eggs](https://www.colourbox.com/preview/1222876-man-working-in-egg-factory.jpg) probably were and even if your potatoes weren’t, they were grown in a field of dirt and cow shit. The only things I would trust not to be contaminated are items that come from large manufacturing facilities that are sealed and, even better, pasteurized. In fact, the US Food Code has slightly different rules for how us little guys have to handle food when were just repacking or displaying something from a large manufacturer (they’re a bit more lax about it). So, should we start the race to the bottom about how many things everyone doesn’t put in their fridge? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/24 "2016-09-18T04:34:15Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Let me reiterate – mine does not “spoil”, it sours. It is quite like kefir. I’m careful to keep it from spoiling, and that does require care… Don’t touch bread products that you are leaving in the bag, and they won’t mold, either. I ate two-month old tortillas today. > > Your gut can handle what you teach it to handle – it’s your body’s learning process, not luck. You depend on it to save your life. Why not just add vinegar to it? Then you don’t have to worry about it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/25 "2016-09-18T05:30:36Z")
As everyone said (and by now you know) the safety on everything you listed is All-Clear. In similar situations, though, is basically the stuff that defrosted should not, as a matter of taste, be refreezed. I can’t speak for TV dinners, in which the food is already cooked, to taste, but the freezing and defrosting of fish breaks up the cells sort of noticeably on the first pass (not so much on the “flash frozen at sea” products), but a defrost the second time will probably be truly icky and mushy. Same thing happens with any food–whether meat or veggies, all the liquid in the cells burst on freezing; on the left-over defrost, you don’t notice it particularly because so much has been done to the food, as a matter of chemistry and taste. But it’s generally a good idea not to refreeze once-defrosted food. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/26 "2016-09-18T07:22:30Z")
Eat it all. Seriously. What’s the absolute worst thing that could go wrong, an upset tummy? Boo Hoo… Next time, it wont bother you. Don’t be afraid. ---
**Author:** ![jasnooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f4b2a3/32.png) [@jasnooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasnooks)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/27 "2016-09-18T08:19:11Z")
Make your boss reimburse you, then eat the bad stuff for free. Better yet, feed the bad food to the kids, then use the money for booze, red lobster, crack cocaine, or Rick Simpson oil ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/28 "2016-09-22T01:28:01Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > What’s the absolute worst thing that could go wrong, an upset tummy? Food poisoning – which involves a hell of a lot worse than an “upset tummy”. :dubious: (Granted I doubt that’ll happen here.) ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/29 "2016-09-22T02:35:53Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Your gut can handle what you teach it to handle – it’s your body’s learning process, not luck. You depend on it to save your life. This is only partially true, and not very good advice. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/30 "2016-09-22T03:48:20Z")
I read an interview with this guy who has eaten nothing but raw meat (and bones, and organs, etc) for a decade. Said he didn’t worry about salmonella. He got it once, before his all raw meat diet, and said “its just three days of diarrhea, no big deal”. So my point is that not everyone has the same standards for “is it safe to eat?”. Even a lot of non extremists laugh at government regulations. Cooks on TV occasionally prepare rare pork. It’s a brave new world. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/31 "2016-09-22T03:59:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And modern yogurt, in a hermetically-sealed package and produced in a clean environment, is going to last a heck of a lot longer than ancient yogurt did. Particularly about the yoghurt thing, when I was in Morocco, the shop vendors would have cartons of regular Danone yoghurt sitting on their shelves, UNREFRIGERATED, and it was perfectly normal. I mean they had “keep refrigerated” labels on them and everything, but nobody seemed to care. Our tour guide said that it was perfectly safe, but I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/32 "2016-09-22T11:44:32Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Cooks on TV occasionally prepare rare pork. It’s a brave new world. Raw pork is perfectly safe to eat, if it is purchased at retail in the normal US food chain. Rats are a vector in the transmission of trichinosis, which is then passed from hogs to humans. But commercial market pork is now raised under strictly controlled conditions in which there is no chance for a hog to eat a dead rat, so the trichinosis threat is zero. Accoding to the CDC, the only cases of trichinosis that are reported in the USA are among Asian immigrant families, who still raise their own free-range pork. The brave new world has changed a lot since Old Testament times. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/33 "2016-09-22T12:27:53Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I wouldn’t hesitate to eat any of that food. Neither would I. I leave groceries out for hours on a regular basis and never have any issue (I don’t buy frozen products, however, those I assume could be an issue, but then I would just eat them on the same day instead of freezing them again). Yogurt in particular will stay edible for a long time. > [@](#): > > Now, the potato thing, I’m not sure what you mean when you say they looked like an avocado. But potatoes will go bad, they will rot, they will attract flies (and maggots), they will smell terrible and I have no idea if they’re safe to eat once they go bad. Potatoes are cheap, buy new potatoes. I don’t see this happening. Potatoes will become wrinkled (and still be perfectly edible, I even know of a regional recipe that _requires_ such old wrinkled potatoes), then will even germinate, but they don’t typically rot (unless they’re kept in a damp place, I guess). ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/34 "2016-09-22T12:36:53Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I don’t see this happening. Potatoes will become wrinkled (and still be perfectly edible, I even know of a regional recipe that _requires_ such old wrinkled potatoes), then will even germinate, but they don’t typically rot (unless they’re kept in a damp place, I guess). I’ve seen this happen several times, usually when they’re stored in an unbreathable plastic bag. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/35 "2016-09-22T13:34:30Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > otatoes will become wrinkled (and still be perfectly edible, I even know of a regional recipe that _requires_ such old wrinkled potatoes), then will even germinate, but they don’t typically rot (unless they’re kept in a damp place, I guess). In the Bolivian Altiplano, where it freezes every night in the thin air, home-stored potatoes may freeze and thaw a hundred times before they are eaten. They dry out and shrink and shrivel and discolor from the process, but retain their nutritional value, and are quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/36 "2016-09-22T13:51:33Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Particularly about the yoghurt thing, when I was in Morocco, the shop vendors would have cartons of regular Danone yoghurt sitting on their shelves, UNREFRIGERATED, and it was perfectly normal. I mean they had “keep refrigerated” labels on them and everything, but nobody seemed to care. Our tour guide said that it was perfectly safe, but I dunno. Wasn’t yoghurt originally created to be kept in leather pouches in the saddlebags of nomads roaming the Gobi desert? I’m guessing it can stand a bit of shelf time. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132/37 "2016-09-22T18:47:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Technically by law (US Food Code), all cold foods can be above 41 degrees for 2 hours. Where can I get a copy of this? I’ve recently become very interested in studying the subject of food safety, particularly as it applies to the restaurant industry. I collect as much information as I can about the subject. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-groceries-in-the-trunk-for-2-hours/766132.md?page=1)