| |
You are here: Experts > Parenting/Family > Protecting your Home and Family > Food Safety Issues > Soup left out for 5 hours
Expert: Carol Schlitt - 11/15/2009
Question
I am afraid I know the answer from your responses to other questions. But my wife is upset, so I figured it was worth asking. She made a soup with canned chicken stock, dried lentils, various fresh vegetables, and a can of tomatoes--no meat other than the canned stock. It was fully cooked and boiling when we turned the stove off and ate some of it. We then left the house with the cover on the pot for 5 hours, foregetting to put it in the refrigerator. When we got back home it was lukewarm to the touch. We are cooking it thoroughly and will then put it in the refrigerator, but I have the feeling we should discard it?
In reading responses to other questions, I have a sense that we should never put a large stockpot of soup like this in the refrigerator to cool off, but rather should transfer it to shallower containers. But since we have never done that before, is it much different to have left the soup on the counter for 5 hours? We won't hold you responsible if we get sick, but how likely do you think that is to happen?
Thanks very much!
Answer
Hi Len,
Yes -- your instincts are right. Foods capable of supporting the growth of harmful bacteria should not be reheated and consumed when left in the "Danger Zone " (40 to 140 degrees) for over 2 hours.
If you were a restaurant and following the 2009 FDA Food Code, you would not be allowed to reheat and serve a food that was taken off the heat and not kept at 135 degrees or higher for 4 hours. For consumers, who are not regulated and inspected, the recommendation is to not consume hot foods that have been off the heat source for over 2 hours.
And yes you are right...a large stockpot of hot food should not be placed in the refrigerator to cool off. It takes many hours for the center of the food to cool down to 40 degrees or less which could allow bacteria to multiply, even though the pot is in the refrigerator. The best way to cool foods is to place them in shallow containers that allow the foods to cool rapidly.
Now, will you always get ill by consuming foods left in the "Danger Zone" for over 2 hours? No...but the possibility goes up with each passing hour. Until we have a way of testing foods that have been temperature abused to see if they are still safe to consume, the recommendation will be to error on the side of caution and pitch the food.
Sorry...
Carol
Ask a Question
|
|
