# The fridge died - which items are still safe to eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236 "2014-08-10T14:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/1 "2014-08-10T14:54:00Z")
So sometime between dinner on Thursday and Friday morning, [the fridge finally died for good](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=728148) - it’s currently 68 degrees in there. New one is being delivered tomorrow, and we have a couple of things in small coolers with ice, but there isn’t enough room for everything in there. I figure the produce and any bread that isn’t moldy is still fine, but I’m not sure about things like condiments. The Feds have a handy [chart](http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html) for this very purpose, but it doesn’t list everything we have in the fridge. Any ideas about the following? Sources would be handy too, if you have them. Jam (I figure this is OK) Feta cheese Harissa Sambal oelek Soy sauce (the bottle says to refrigerate after opening, but really) Chipotles in adobo Candied ginger in syrup (I figure this is OK) Black bean sauce Chinese shrimp paste (it reeks so badly, how would you even know if it had gone bad? Homemade vinegar-based salad dressing - it says vinegar-based dressings are OK, but I assume they are talking about commercially made ones. Ginger paste Curry paste I’m probably forgetting a few things, too. Sigh. I mean we knew this would happen, but we were kind of hoping the old fridge had another while longer in it. ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/2 "2014-08-10T14:59:41Z")
How long the jam will last depends largely on the sugar content. High sugar jam could last for months but low sugar jam might go bad after a few days. Similar thing with soy sauce. If it has lots of salt in it, it’s probably good for several months. Sorry I can’t help you with the rest of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/3 "2014-08-10T15:01:48Z")
> [@sbunny8](#): > > How long the jam will last depends largely on the sugar content. High sugar jam could last for months but low sugar jam might go bad after a few days. Similar thing with soy sauce. If it has lots of salt in it, it’s probably good for several months. Sorry I can’t help you with the rest of the list. Assume regular levels of sugar/salt - no special dietary conditions for any of the condiments. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/4 "2014-08-10T15:08:19Z")
lots of sugar or salt is a preservative. not sure about feta but the rest i would have no worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Jsei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Jsei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jsei)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/5 "2014-08-10T15:16:30Z")
The soy sauce is OK. (Our bottles live under the stove top and the knife drawer.) Ditto for the shrimp paste. (Also, it never really goes bad, like bean curd because it’s fermented as well.) The ginger will be okay for a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/6 "2014-08-10T15:25:26Z")
I’d assume everything except probably the feta is OK for now. Ginger paste is questionable. Homemade salad dressings need to be used within a week or so typically, so depending on the ingredients I’d be leery. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/7 "2014-08-10T16:26:16Z")
Everything that smellls normal . Even if it doesn’t, it might be OK. A couple months ago, my fridge died and it took 3 days to get it replaced, I didn’t discard anything. I refroze what had thawed. It might lose a little mouthfeel when it is cooked later on, but won’t be harmful to eat. I didn’t have any ice cream – that will not stand thawing, you probably won’t want to eat it, but it won’t be dangerous. The condiments you mentioned probably do not need to be refrigerated in the first place. They will surely not develop any pathogens just in a few days at room temperature. Any cooked leftovers, that would go bad after a week or two in the fridge, will probably not stand a few days at room temperature, but give them the sniff test before discarding. They usually smell sour when they go bad. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/8 "2014-08-10T17:29:40Z")
Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re not even supposed to put condiments in the fridge. (It should say so on the packaging if you are.) And wait, did you say bread and produce? That stuff also usually doesn’t go in the fridge in temperate climates. Many fruits lose taste/and or texture in the fridge, and/or aren’t really ripe yet so a few days in the sun is what they need. I keep jam in the fridge because it takes me more than a month to finish a jar. But it doesn’t spoil very quickly at room temperature. You can eat anything that you’re going to heat to boiling temperature throughout (= kills the bacteria) that doesn’t smell really bad (= doesn’t have tons of bacterial toxins). ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/9 "2014-08-10T18:05:20Z")
I would eat everything on your list. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/10 "2014-08-10T18:14:00Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Everything that smellls normal . Even if it doesn’t, it might be OK. No! One of the big differences between gradual spoilage at refrigerated temperatures and spoilage at room temperature (or close to it) is that many things can spoil rapidly or develop high levels of bacteria at elevated temperatures without developing the tell-tale signs of spoilage. Specifically, that’s a major difference between spoilage of refrigerated foods and rapid spoilage of foods at room temperature. Just something to keep in mind. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/11 "2014-08-10T18:45:47Z")
Bread actually [goes stale faster](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/08/bread-goes-stale-about-six-times-faster-in-the-refrigerator-than-at-room-temperature/) at refrigerator temperatures. If it goes mouldy before you’ve got time to eat all of it, you’re better off freezing it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/12 "2014-08-10T19:03:13Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Bread actually [goes stale faster](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/08/bread-goes-stale-about-six-times-faster-in-the-refrigerator-than-at-room-temperature/) at refrigerator temperatures. If it goes mouldy before you’ve got time to eat all of it, you’re better off freezing it. Apologies for the hijack, but there’s a difference between “going stale” and “going bad” – i.e.- moldy. I’ve definitely heard the same argument you advance, that refrigeration (rather than freezing) contributes to bread products drying out. But I’ve had great success refrigerating well-wrapped dinner rolls and baguettes (well-wrapped to keep them from dehydrating) and reheating them either in the oven or, sliced, on a stovetop crepe pan. The intuitive notion that things deteriorate faster at room temperature isn’t entirely false for bread; I’ve had warmed or toasted baguette slices from a days-old refrigerated loaf that still had the exquisite flavor of a fresh baguette that would have been lost if it had sat out on the counter. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/13 "2014-08-10T21:03:19Z")
I’ll take your feta if you don’t want it. 😃 Cheese should be fine for a few days unrefrigerated–that’s what cheese is _for_. Bad feta stinks in a different way than fresh; I believe it’s an ammonia smell. Condiments should all be ok, as long as somebody didn’t leave crumbs in the jar. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/14 "2014-08-10T21:47:42Z")
You do realize, do you, that a couple of generations ago, home fridges did not exist, yet people survived? (Well, ok, they are mostly dead now, but not for that reason.) Apart from frozen food thawing most stuff you keep in your fridge will not suffer noticeably through being left out for a few hours. I can remember going with my parents, in the 1960s sometime, to buy their very first fridge. It did not change our lives that much, though. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/15 "2014-08-10T21:53:48Z")
I think everythng you listed ought to be fine with the possible exception on the feta cheese. I would eat it, anyway. The cheese might have separated and become bit funky but maybe it is ok for cooking. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/16 "2014-08-10T22:36:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Apologies for the hijack, but there’s a difference between “going stale” and “going bad” – i.e.- moldy. I’ve definitely heard the same argument you advance, that refrigeration (rather than freezing) contributes to bread products drying out. But I’ve had great success refrigerating well-wrapped dinner rolls and baguettes (well-wrapped to keep them from dehydrating) and reheating them either in the oven or, sliced, on a stovetop crepe pan. Did you compare it with well-wrapped rolls and baguettes stored at room temperature and then reheated? Or do you mean kept refrigerated beyond the time room temperature storage would have caused mold? > [@](#): > > The intuitive notion that things deteriorate faster at room temperature isn’t entirely false for bread; I’ve had warmed or toasted baguette slices from a days-old refrigerated loaf that still had the exquisite flavor of a fresh baguette that would have been lost if it had sat out on the counter. Which is why I mentioned mould, which of course refrigeration does slow down. But have you actually compared refrigerated, rewarmed/toasted breads to non-refrigerated, rewarmed/toasted breads? If so, good on you, you’ve added to human knowledge. And even if you have it doesn’t change the fact that if you’re not going to toast or warm your bread, bread stored in a refrigerator for two days is more stale than bread stored outside the refrigerator for two days. It’s been tested and explained by people interested in food chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/17 "2014-08-10T23:19:36Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > You do realize, do you, that a couple of generations ago, home fridges did not exist, yet people survived? (Well, ok, they are mostly dead now, but not for that reason.) Apart from frozen food thawing most stuff you keep in your fridge will not suffer noticeably through being left out for a few hours. I can remember going with my parents, in the 1960s sometime, to buy their very first fridge. It did not change our lives that much, though. Yes, I realize that. However, people also went grocery shopping far more frequently and bought less stuff per trip. And at this point the fridge has been basically dead since Thursday night sometime, so not just a few hours. It’s been nearly 70 degrees in there for the past 2 days. So by the time the new one arrives (probably tomorrow afternoon sometime), that’s almost 4 days. ---
**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 11, 2014, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/18 "2014-08-11T07:10:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > No! One of the big differences between gradual spoilage at refrigerated temperatures and spoilage at room temperature (or close to it) is that many things can spoil rapidly or develop high levels of bacteria at elevated temperatures without developing the tell-tale signs of spoilage. Specifically, that’s a major difference between spoilage of refrigerated foods and rapid spoilage of foods at room temperature. Just something to keep in mind. Thank you. “if it smells OK, it’s probably safe” is perhaps the most stubborn item of ignorance on this board. If it were true, people would never get food poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/19 "2014-08-11T08:11:56Z")
There are two ways to get sick from spoiled food: - there are many live bacteria in the food - there are toxins produced by bacteria in the food Heating the food will take care of the former, sniffing will mostly determine the latter. So a healthy adult with a robust immune system will be ok eating anything that smells ok AND is heated to about boiling temperature throughout. (You probably also want to throw out anything with mold on it.) ---
**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 11, 2014, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236/20 "2014-08-11T11:53:59Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > sniffing will mostly determine the latter. No it won’t. Unless by ‘mostly’ you mean ‘sometimes’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fridge-died-which-items-are-still-safe-to-eat/695236.md?page=2)