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Original poster

Would you eat pasta and tomato sauce left on the side for 2 1/4 hours?

59 replies

ABitCrapper · 20/08/2018 20:30

Just that

OP posts:
Xmasbaby11 · 20/08/2018 21:03

Yes absolutely.

Rebecca36 · 20/08/2018 21:06

If it was cool and covered up well, yes.

Original poster
ABitCrapper · 20/08/2018 21:09

I have anxiety about this sort of thing and I'm trying really hard not to panic about it. It may have even been 2.5 hours before I ate it - just didn't realize it had been that long!

Thanks for all the responses

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General food
LadyMonicaBaddingham · 20/08/2018 21:13

Yes.

Monday55 · 20/08/2018 21:13

Yep... I would only be cautious if it had mayonnaise.

SoyDora · 20/08/2018 21:14

I’d eat it if it had been out overnight!

PlatypusPie · 20/08/2018 21:15

If had been covered against flies, yes fine.

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 20/08/2018 21:16

Er, of course? What would have happened to either pasta or tomato sauce in that time that could possibly be of concern? I might warm it up a bit, but that's no time at all and neither substance is a worry.

VladmirsPoutine · 20/08/2018 21:17

Short of it having been left overnight in a cage with your pet rats I'd definitely eat it and have no problems with toddler eating it too.

lastqueenofscotland · 20/08/2018 21:22

I’d eat it if it had been out all night

LemonysSnicket · 20/08/2018 21:42

I'd eat it after a lot longer than that.

MadeForThis · 20/08/2018 21:43

Even overnight would be grand

Antigon · 20/08/2018 21:44

It seems there's an anxiety about any old thing these days. I dread to think how much perfectly good food people waste.

twoundertwo54321 · 20/08/2018 21:45

Overnight is fine.

Marriageoftrueminds · 20/08/2018 21:49

I would absolutely eat this and have several times in the past. Also, I’m an infant school teacher and kids routinely have packed lunches that sit in the classroom all morning - so at least 3 hours - then they eat them. No one gets poorly, this happens up and down the country. Take heart!

SoyDora · 20/08/2018 21:50

I make DD’s packed lunch at around 7.30am, she eats it at 12.30pm. It isn’t refrigerated.

Original poster
ABitCrapper · 20/08/2018 21:55

Do you give her pasta for lunch though?

And actually my dd1 will need packed lunches from September - I've bought a special lunch box with a freezer block section in it as I worry so much about this.
And yes DH gets very annoyed at the amount of food I throw out.

OP posts:
SoyDora · 20/08/2018 21:56

Yes I give her pasta for lunch. In tomato sauce. What bacteria do you think pasta harbours that other packed lunch food doesn’t?

Original poster
ABitCrapper · 20/08/2018 21:59

Do you know, I have absolutely no idea.

Just anxious about bugs in all food really. And anxious about driving. And getting I'll. And life in general sometimes.
It's quite exhausting in my head Sad

OP posts:
Marriageoftrueminds · 20/08/2018 22:00

@abotcrapper pasta is a standard in lunch boxes. Is there a reason why you’re particularly worried about it being pasta, rather than a sandwich, say? I’ve done a food hygiene course (and have also suffered all my life with anxiety, including a bit of food anxiety now and then so I know where you’re coming from), and I can’t think of any reason why pasta would be any worse than anything else.

My parents have always, always left meals on the hob and portioned then off to take to work / give to the kids (when we were small) the next day. I’m not saying I would be comfortable with this - that’s the old anxiety talking! - but it can be reassuring to think that people have a much lower threshold in terms of what is safe, and are still totally fine. Please try not to worry. Visualise a positive outcome and invest emotional energy in doing so. I find that helps drown out the catastrophising. Honestly, you and your little one are fine x

Original poster
ABitCrapper · 20/08/2018 22:05

Thanks Marriage

Bread is kept in a food bin not the fridge so I'm happy with sandwiches. But I worry about the fillings so generally only do marmite / peanut butter / honey.

OP posts:
Marriageoftrueminds · 20/08/2018 22:07

Tagging fail, sorry!

I could add that my husband has an absolutely opposite attitude to me about this kind of thing. He eats all sorts of things I would NEVER touch - meat that’s gone properly out of date, or has been cooked and left out for ages, etc etc. I have never known him to get ill as a result and I’ve known him 11 years. Yes, some people are just lucky, but I also think most of us are massively over-cautious. Embrace your leftovers! You’ll save so much money, apart from anything else!

Alicatz66 · 20/08/2018 22:10

My DP would eat it after 2.5 days !! He has the strongest immune system ever !!! I've see him drop a crisp on the pub floor and eat it !! Never had a day off sick in 20 years ! Grin

StarfishSandwich · 20/08/2018 22:15

I’m very much in the ‘would leave it overnight and eat if the next day’ camp. Even if it had meat in. Would happily eat it cold too.

I had a stomach of iron until I got hyperemesis! 😂

Cataline · 20/08/2018 22:23

If there's no meat or dairy in it I wouldn't hesitate.
In fact, I made a veggie chilli last night and forgot about it until I got home from work this evening where I found it still out on the worktop.
We ate it for tea after thoroughly heating it- was totally fine!