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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU not to eat market food left out in the heat?

45 replies

Letsgetonwithit · 24/06/2026 15:36

I know I have a few food issues so I don't know if this one is me being unreasonable or not.

I wandered around a market today with a friend and she bought a sausage roll to eat and a fairy cake style muffin to take home for her daughter. It's 25 degrees outside and the market had been running for about 4 hours by the time we got there.

Aibu for absolutely not eating anything like that, that has sat outside for hours in 25 degrees heat? There wasn't any refrigeration etc. Things wouldn't be allowed to sit out in shops out of fridges for that long so why is it ok on a market? Would you have eaten those things e.g. sausage roll and a cake with icing etc?

OP posts:
RubyEspadrilles · 24/06/2026 16:56

I'd have eaten both with nary a thought, unless there were flies buzzing around them.

Original poster
Letsgetonwithit · 24/06/2026 16:55

Thanks all. Good to know it's not just me.

OP posts:
Original poster
Letsgetonwithit · 24/06/2026 16:55

likelysuspect · 24/06/2026 16:42

The whole point of pastry goods is that they provide a 'carrier' for meat or vegetable products, they were never meant to be in fridges.

Yes I would eat both easily

Does the pastry stop bacterial growth?

OP posts:
likelysuspect · 24/06/2026 16:42

The whole point of pastry goods is that they provide a 'carrier' for meat or vegetable products, they were never meant to be in fridges.

Yes I would eat both easily

Sparrowsandbudgies · 24/06/2026 16:36

I wouldn’t have eaten either. But then I am super fussy.

hecalledmecaptain · 24/06/2026 16:21

I'd have eaten the cake - buttercream doesn't need to be refrigerated.

The sausage roll would have depended on when it was cooked and how it was stored - our local butchers cooks them fresh twice a day and they sit out cooling, and people buy them. But of they had already been cooked and cooled and then sat out for 4 hours, I wouldn't.

pizzaHeart · 24/06/2026 16:13

I wouldn’t

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 24/06/2026 16:08

I never buy food from those street markets, unless it is cooked on the spot, as I always wonder what happens to it at the end of the day...does it get put out the following day?
I'm sure that those trays of sweets (that flies like) are.

Turnitoffnonagain · 24/06/2026 16:02

I wouldn't 😒

Ablondiebutagoody · 24/06/2026 16:02

Thebinisrightthere · 24/06/2026 15:54

I'd have eaten both. Surely the sausage roll would be better in this heat rather than room temperature where germs can breed. And there's no risk with the cake although it would probably go a bit manky in this heat

This temperature isn't high enough to kill bacteria. They would be multiplying like crazy

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 24/06/2026 15:58

I'd have eaten both, but my stomach is made of absolute steel so I'm probably not a good barometer

Thebinisrightthere · 24/06/2026 15:54

I'd have eaten both. Surely the sausage roll would be better in this heat rather than room temperature where germs can breed. And there's no risk with the cake although it would probably go a bit manky in this heat

budgiegirl · 24/06/2026 15:51

Cake, no problem at all - buttercream can stay out of the fridge for a few days, even if it contains milk.

Sausage rolls - I probably wouldn't. Although my mum regularly leaves meat products out of the fridge overnight and never has a problem .

dementedpixie · 24/06/2026 15:50

I'd have eaten both. You can buy unrefridgerated sausage rolls at the bakery bits of the supermarket. Buttercream is ok out of the fridge too and I keep my butter on the worktop.

JustJugglingCats · 24/06/2026 15:46

I'd eat both. Have to admit I wouldn't have even thought about it. I'm not saying that's a good, sensible or admirable thing though. However, I do have an iron constitution and have eaten street food all over the world and from many dodgy establishments and have never been ill, so I'll admit it's not on my radar! 😬

Purpleandping · 24/06/2026 15:42

Letsgetonwithit · 24/06/2026 15:40

Interesting. Thanks. I'd avoid the cake because of the butter icing but good to know that one is probably just one of my food issues.

Butter is OK out of the fridge? I never refridgerate it or you can't spread it.

Ablondiebutagoody · 24/06/2026 15:41

I wouldn't have eaten either. I currently have some fruit and bread sweating in my car and am fine with that. Meat and dairy, no.

Original poster
Letsgetonwithit · 24/06/2026 15:40

Interesting. Thanks. I'd avoid the cake because of the butter icing but good to know that one is probably just one of my food issues.

OP posts:
Purpleandping · 24/06/2026 15:38

I'd eat the cake, but be wary of the sausage roll.

Hoppinggreen · 24/06/2026 15:38

cake yes, sausage roll no

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