Expert: Chris Manley - 10/2/2009

Question
I made chili, meat with beans and froze it, it's about 1-1/2 quarts. I took it out to thaw on the counter and forgot it, about 8 hours. The room temp was about 67 degrees. Is it safe to boil and eat?

Answer
Food should not be used if the food temperature is allowed to remain above 41 degrees for more than 4 hours.  Without knowing temperatures it is difficult to say, however with a container frozen solid it would take a long period of time for it to rise above 41 degrees.  It should be safe to use.