# Should I throw out my dinner? (NEED ANSWER FAST) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204 "2013-08-14T12:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/41 "2013-08-14T21:34:08Z")
What do you think people did before fridges? Even if it was left with the lid off, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Boil it up for a couple minutes if you are really worried. If you left it with the lid on, I imagine it was sterile from cooking and would remain so for a long time. I wouldn’t even dream of tossing it. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/42 "2013-08-14T21:39:28Z")
Eat the food. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/43 "2013-08-14T21:39:29Z")
Before fridges, people didn’t generally leave cooked food lying about. They cooked it and ate it. Also, they sometimes died for reasons they didn’t diagnose or understand. I’m not actually saying the food in this particular case is definitely dangerous (although it certainly could be). ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/44 "2013-08-14T21:46:30Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > If you left it **with the lid on** , I imagine it was sterile from cooking and would remain so for a long time. Or the conditions are ideal for any anaerobic bacteria that weren’t destroyed during cooking. Any home canners here who know how hot and how long food needs to cook to destroy C. botulinum spores? Shallots are bulbs grown in dirt, so that would be my primary concern here. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/45 "2013-08-14T22:02:06Z")
You would not pass a health inspection if you served food that was stored like that (it’s 2 hours max between 40F and 140F). However, I would eat it without thinking twice, especially if it’s been reheated. The responsible fool-proof, I’m-on-the-hook-if-somebody-gets-sick answer is “no, don’t eat it” but I would 100 times out of 100. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/46 "2013-08-14T22:06:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Most of this advice is false. It was just my Humble Opinion **Mangetout** , and I thought I gave enough caveats (which you didn’t include in the quote) to let the OP take suitable precautions; care to expand on your diagnosis? If this post comes across as defensive I admit it probably is. JC ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/47 "2013-08-14T22:07:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You would not pass a health inspection if you served food that was stored like that (it’s 2 hours max between 40F and 140F). \Not quite - it’s two hours to get from 140F down to 70F, then another four hours to get below 40F.\ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/48 "2013-08-14T22:12:52Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > It was just my Humble Opinion **Mangetout** , and I thought I gave enough caveats (which you didn’t include in the quote) to let the OP take suitable precautions; care to expand on your diagnosis? The things that make food stinky do not always make it unsafe and the things that make it unsafe are very often odourless. Advice to the effect “If it smells OK, it’s safe” is simply incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/49 "2013-08-14T22:19:32Z")
> [@OleOneEye](#): > > \Not quite - it’s two hours to get from 140F down to 70F, then another four hours to get below 40F.\ Oh, then I’m misremembering. I could swear it was 2 hours in the 40-140F range, never heard this 70F thing, but maybe they changed the rules or it was simplified for us back when I worked around food. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/50 "2013-08-14T22:27:31Z")
Looks like the general [USDA rule](http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/8b705ede-f4dc-4b31-a745-836e66eeb0f4/Danger_Zone.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) is still 2 hours, so I’m pretty sure we were just taught the simplified rule. But you’re right. I found [this detailing the City of Chicago rules](https://webapps.cityofchicago.org/healthinspection/docs/BoHFoodRegs.pdf) and it says: > [@](#): > > 1. Cooling. > A. Cooked potentially hazardous food shall be cooled within a 6 hour period according to the following > schedule: > 2. From 60ºC (140ºF) to 21ºC (70ºF) within 2 hours; and > 3. From 21ºC (70ºF) to 4ºC (40ºF), or below, within 4 hours. > B. Potentially hazardous food shall be cooled to 4ºC (40ºF) or below within 4 hours if prepared from > ingredients at ambient temperature, such as reconstituted foods and canned tuna. > C. Fluid milk and milk products, shell eggs, and molluscan shellstock received in compliance with laws > regulating the respective food during shipment from the supplier shall be cooled to 4.44ºC (40ºF) or below > within 4 hours. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/51 "2013-08-14T22:32:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The things that make food stinky do not always make it unsafe and the things that make it unsafe are very often odourless. Advice to the effect “If it smells OK, it’s safe” is simply incorrect. Very true, but we’re talking about lamb bourguignon, not kimchi, 1000-year-old eggs or the many fish dishes that are pungent. It was cooked with tomatoes, a good red and shallots and I’m not familiar with any dishes with those included that will poison you without giving tell-tale signs. Of course botulism has horrid, long-lasting side-effects and should be avoided at all costs. If I was in the same position as the OP - having left an open container of a lamb dish for 5 hours - I would also be worried about consuming it. I think we’ve been conditioned to think that throwing away food is bad; our parents and grandparents couldn’t afford to and the more recent awareness of those starving in many countries makes us feel guilty about wasting anything. But many people here have raised the point of keeping lunch at room temp for hours without any side-effects; are we becoming too careful? Should our immune systems sometimes face a challenge? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/52 "2013-08-14T22:39:02Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > Very true, but we’re talking about lamb bourguignon, not kimchi, 1000-year-old eggs or the many fish dishes that are pungent. It was cooked with tomatoes, a good red and shallots and I’m not familiar with any dishes with those included that will poison you without giving tell-tale signs. I’m not talking about those things either. The bacteria that cause food to spoil and smell are not necessarily very toxic and the bacteria that will cause food poisoning are not especially odorous (especially at the doses that will cause trouble). If the smell test was worth a damn, _people would never get food poisoning_. > [@](#): > > But many people here have raised the point of keeping lunch at room temp for hours without any side-effects; are we becoming too careful? Should our immune systems sometimes face a challenge? What would be the point? You can’t develop immunity to most intestinal bacterial pathogens. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/53 "2013-08-14T23:30:02Z")
I swear, for someone who calls themselves **Mangetout** … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/54 "2013-08-14T23:35:11Z")
Ironically, I’m more aware than many as to how the next bite may kill me. I have to be, if I’m going to eat everything (as if that were actually true). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/55 "2013-08-14T23:58:31Z")
I would eat it without hesitation. As others have recommended I would scrape off the top, just because of possible dust/insects since it was uncovered. On the other hand I probably would not serve it to my kids. My stomach is a lot less sensitive than their stomaches are. (Actually, I wouldn’t serve it to them because of the wine, but that’s another issue.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/56 "2013-08-15T00:48:47Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > But many people here have raised the point of keeping lunch at room temp for hours without any side-effects; are we becoming too careful? Should our immune systems sometimes face a challenge? When I was a kid people frequently ate lunch meat sandwiches that had sat around all day. And the janitor would often stop by classrooms with his bucket of shavings to sop up puke late in the afternoon too. Weird how kids would so often get a “stomach bug” a few hours after lunch. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/57 "2013-08-15T01:24:17Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > When I was a kid people frequently ate lunch meat sandwiches that had sat around all day. And the janitor would often stop by classrooms with his bucket of shavings to sop up puke late in the afternoon too. Weird how kids would so often get a “stomach bug” a few hours after lunch. That seems a bit odd to me, as lunch meats are usually so pumped full of salt and nitrates/nitrites you don’t even have to store them in the fridge. I mean, lunch meats basically come from preservation techniques. One ham I made I had hanging in my basement for _nine months_ before I cut into it and ate it. (And, personally, I don’t remember the janitor coming around often at all to mop up vomit.) ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/58 "2013-08-15T01:24:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I swear, for someone who calls themselves **Mangetout** … 😉 Dude cooked and ate a pigeon he saw a car hit. That’s hardcore. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/59 "2013-08-15T01:56:43Z")
Five hours of a lamb dish going from hot to a 55 F room temp and you think it’s gone bad? “No” is the answer. I routinely leave just cooked meat stews out overnight to cool so they will not overwhelm the fridge and put them in the fridge the next morning. I have never had an issue. Heat and eat. If it was fish or something with mayo and eggs on a summer day you might have a concern but given the time and temps involved and the type of food the risk is infinitesimal. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204/60 "2013-08-15T02:33:37Z")
As long as it was thoroughly cooked in the first place, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. But I’m one of those crazy risk takers who packs a lunch and leaves it unrefrigerated in my bag until I eat it since I was a child. These days, the way my shift goes sometimes, that’s 8 hours later. Big deal. I also cook stews often and leave them in the dutch oven on the stove overnight frequently. My kitchen is usually in the 70’s. It’s just still too hot to put in the fridge when it’s time for bed, so I leave it and put it in the fridge in the morning. Then eat it for the following 4 or 5 days, too. Would I do that with a fish or seafood stew? No. But four-legged or fowl, thoroughly cooked to de-boning itself has not been a problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-throw-out-my-dinner-need-answer-fast/666204.md?page=4)