Is this "rule" followed in the UK.

[Onetwistedsista]

So I've worked in the USA and this rule about food not being refrigerated within over 2 hours drives me nuts! Do people in the UK do that? For example, bake cottage pie, leave to cool, then forget about it ( by mistake) but toss it out for possible baceria. Here in South Africa they'd just laugh at me. I've not followed it till now simply because of my DS but its stressful. So cook a pot of food, but takes forever to cool then dip it in a cold sink of ice so it cools faster! What a schlep! Has anyone here actually really gotten 'sick 'by eaten something that hasn't been refrigerated within 2 hours?

I just it cool then chill,I don't time. Nobody ever got ill. The important part is the reheating to piping hot all the way through.

I frequently leave things to cool in the overnight. It's always covered and we don't eat meat so not sure if that affects things. Rice always gets thrown away after cooking if it's not eaten though.

I keep rice and reheat thoroughly-never been ill with it.

I don't follow cooking and kitchen rules.. My late Mother used to make pies and things,then put them in the cool larder room,on a marble type shelf, maybe for several days, and everything was fine.

I made a delicious lasagne a couple of weeks ago when the weather was nice. We all ate it and enjoyed it and were fine. The leftovers then didn't get refrigerated by mistake (DH left it in the oven).

I then found it in the oven the next morning and decided to reheat it and eat it for lunch. I was seriously ill with food poisoning which came on really swiftly and had me throwing up and confined to the bathroom for hours. It was like being in labour. Not fun.

I live in the north too, and leave things to cool down naturally, sometimes overnight before sticking in the fridge. Probably
Not in hot weather but the rest of the time sure. The food is more at risk of getting licked by the cat than going off.

Lancashire hot pot currently sat on the top of the hob cooling as we speak. It probably won’t be refrigerated at all, It will be microwaved in portions tonight by the rest of the family when they get in from their sport.

Regular occurrence here. Only had food
Poisoning once after eating Chinese takeaway (rice?).

We buy 2-4 blocks of butter at a time, & keep a block (or half a block in very warm weather) out in a butter dish, soft & ready for use. In winter it's pretty cold in our kitchen & butter is only just barely spreadable. In summer it gets so soft it starts to sag... last summer we had to keep moving the dish around to keep it out of the sun so it wouldn't melt. In winter we quite often have the block out for a fortnight.

The only things I'm really strict about, are rice, raw poultry, & seafood. With everything else I apply the look, smell, taste rule.

Insisting on butter going in the fridge is daft. You can easily tell if butter has gone rancid from the taste - otherwise it's fine. It can last weeks out of the fridge. As for cooked food: I do like to get it in the fridge or freezer asap, but think within 2 hours sounds paranoid if the food is still too hot to go in the fridge. If you cooked it properly in the first place, you'd have to have a seriously lousy immune system to get ill from something that was freshly cooked only 2 hours ago!!!

If I've got leftovers from dinner, I leave them to cool in the oven/microwave until bed then stick them in the fridge/freezer as appropriate. I've never really paid attention to any 2 hour rule.

Stuff is often left out overnight because I've forgotten to refrigerate it. I think so long as you reheat it so it's piping hot all the way through, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't leave rice out, that would go straight in the fridge, but veggie pasta bakes I've left out all night, popped in the fridge the next morning then eaten it over 3 or 4 days. In the summer as well.

Rice is fine to reheat as long as it hasn't been left out, ideally you should cool it as quickly as possible (I pop it in a sieve and run cold water over it) and get it in the fridge.

I also leave butter out, and don't refrigerate eggs much, unless we have spell of warm weather. And then that's only because while I like butter soft, a puddle is too soft.

Growing up my mom would leave chicken and meats out over night and still eat it! I ate it as well, as I didn't know better....she would also make a chicken soup with rice and leave on stove for two days and we would eat it!!!! I would NEVER EVER do that now....I am horrified that I grew up eating like this. My mom still does. But guess what....we were NEVER sick growing up. The last time vomitting as a child, I was 6 years old (and before that it was rare as well). I did not vomit again until I was about 16/17 and that was due to drinking too many vodka mixed drinks for the first time lol. I also never got fevers and rarely got colds growing up. I can't believe it how here it seems people get sick ALL the time (london). I still rarely get sick, but my kids are not as lucky. They are still young though so I am hoping their immune systems are better now.

I learned a few years ago that you’re not supposed to put hot food in the fridge… But I have no idea why… I am kind of bad though, and I forget about the food… I too, group in Florida, and I think as long as the room is air-conditioned, or really cold… Which in the UK is the same thing ha ha Ha, you’re OK.

eggs shouldn't be refrigerated anyway.

If I make a stew or bolognaise I'll leave it on the hob with lid on for next day and reheat.

Not saying anyone else needs to do that but never been ill.

It's been cooked for enough time to kill anything, then some spoonfuls out for meal, lid on its going to be pretty much sterile.

Wouldn't do that for a cold dish though, obviously :D

When I reheat its a good simmer for a while on the hob not quivk zap in microwave or similar.

Anything else goes in fridge eg roast leftovers once they have cooled. No 2 hour Rule but I wouldnt leave out for long once cooled down (often get bored and shove in fridge before totally cool!).

The USA has ten times the rate of food poisoning compared to the UK.

This is the important comment on this thread.

The USA has a useless system for ensuring poisonous food does not reach consumers. Given this system, it's much more important to abide by food hygiene rules if you're in the US.

This article is interesting...
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/food-poisoning-why-one-top-expert-wont-ever-eat-these-foods-a6849371.html

I leave dominoes pizza out all night and eat it the next day. I'm still alive

When I were a child.... etc. my mother would have the turkey carcase on the diningroom table for days after Christmas, before finally giving in and making soup with what was left. Too big to go in the fridge. She'd remove the stuffing right after the Christmas dinner as that (according to her) would make the whole lot go off.

As a pp said, modern fridges can cope with this ok.

I cool down fast and refrigerate quickly, it's just basic food hygiene not to have something sitting out for hours.

Drsausage yes good link

Diffetences in food safety standards, manufacturing methods, rules around storage etc will make a big difference.

The good news is, with brexit, the plan seems to be that we will make up the food we don't produce ourselves with food from usa. Hoorah!

I lived in South Florida for two years. You would not want to eat that macaroni salad Aunt Bev left by the pool for six hours.

I do tend to be lax about the guidelines, though. I have served pizza for lunch and then tossed it in the fridge five or six hours later.

I make enoughh, say, bolognese for at least two meals (4 people, so 8+ servings). I just leave it in the pot covered overnight, or even for two nights' before it goes in the fridge.

No way. Never done this. I've left things over night too and as long as it's reheated correctly the next day it's fine.
People are weird.