Expert: Carol Schlitt - 11/30/2006

Question
Lets say for example the food after cooked layed around in that dangerous temperature sufficient time for it to cause food born illness and have bacteria...  Say for example out on the counter half a day.. but yes hypothetically ended up with all the bacteria.

Does refrigerating a food at this point necesarily mean the bacteria is gone and you won't get sick when you eat it when you take it out of the fridge and eat without reheating?



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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
The hot food hot and cold food cold doesn't clearly distinguish the safety of eating hot food refrigerated cold.

For example..  I lately am cooking a bulk amount of my fish and meats in the oven.  I package portions and freeze.  Then put them in the fridge for a day or two before I eat them.

From here onward I usually steam the food to completely defrost and rid of that freezy taste, and has given me good results.

I like taking my food with me and have special ice packs.  I would like to know if its safe to eat a "hot" food cold that has been handled in the following ways:

1. has been refrigerated immediately after cooked ... and later eaten cold

or

2. cooked, frozen, steamed, then refrigerated ... and eaten cold.  {the steaming takes out the from the freezer taste and don't like to use microwaves}

Thanks
-----Answer-----
Hi Michael,

The concept behind "keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold" is to keep foods out of the temperatures (40 to 140 degrees F)that support the growth of bacteria. It is safe to eat foods that were once hot and are now cold (for example fried chicken that is refrigerated and eaten cold). The key is to minimize the amount of time that foods are in the "in-between" temperatures - 40 to 140 degrees.  That's why we say to keep foods hot or cold -- to decrease the chances of food borne illness.

Potentially hazardous foods like meats, fish, etc can support the growth of bacteria. Bacteria grow best at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees.  If you minimize the time that these potentially hazardous foods spend between 40 and 140 degrees -- you minimize your chances of contracting a food borne illness.

So -- enjoy your hot foods cold if you like -- just make sure they stay cold (below 40 degrees).

I hope this answers your question. If you should have additional questions, please let me know.

Carol C. Schlitt
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
University of Illinois Extension

Answer
No -- refrigerating does not kill bacteria that grew during the time it sat a room temperature. Refrigerating slows down the growth of bacteria but it doesn't kill it.

The best way to minimize the chances for bacteria to grow to dangerous levels is to respect the danger zone. That means minimizing the amount of time potentially hazardous foods sit at room temperature.

Carol