Do I need to throw this food away?

[newmumagainn]

Cooked a roast chicken dinner yesterday, took the remaining meat off the chicken and put into a bowl and covered it. Forgot to put it in the fridge. It's been on the side in the kitchen since 8pm, remembered it's at 8am.

Looks fine, smells fine, cold in the kitchen, so much chicken left!

Also a plate of roasters, leeks, spinach and carrots and onions were covered and left out too.

Thanks

volcano is like those idiots you see on Eat Well for Less, you think no one in real life behaves like that but apparently they do. You have to feel sorry for the next generation being brought up in homes like that.

What does he think people did before we had fridges! If the kitchen was cool it would be fine.

The only thing I have thrown out (well given to cat and hes fine!) Is scallops from the freezer a year out of date, they would probably be fine but given the current situation I dont need food poisoning and neither does the NHS need extra sick people...

What does he think people did before we had fridges!

Or before we had sell by dates

I take it Volcano never buys loose fruit and veg or meat from the butchers as she wouldn't know whether it is out of date or not.

Huuuge stereotype alert but the kind of person who thinks food "expires" and must be thrown away as the clock strikes midnight is not a buyer of loose or any kind of unpackaged food

I always err on the side of caution, but provided the room was cool all night, I'd popped it in the fridge and used it in something that required thorough reheating that day.

I think people are being right dicks on this thread tbh. Of course you can comprehend why someone follows the dates on packages just because you dont

I wouldnt have eaten the chicken. I dont like waste so shock horror store my food properly. And only buy what I need. Its not hard, you dont have to eat food that might make you ill to avoid waste, thats just ridiculous. Itll be a hell of a lot of toilet paper wastage if you get the shits.

Food doesnt have to smell bad/look mouldy to be off. If this was the case no one would ever get food poisoning would they? Modern food practices such as high farm animals being packed together, packaging meat have lead to higher levels of food poisoning microbes in our food, and so therefore we cant say 'what did people do before fridges'. Our current food production is very different to 50 yrs ago.

Even if you think this would be fine, surely you wouldnt be angry with your DH? Id be more angry with my DH tbh if he got pissy with me for trying to prevent food poisoning than if he did something i disagreed with. Food poisoning can kill and you really dont want to end up in hospital right now. Sometimes mn threads are like a cascade of sheep trying to outdo each other

I would have used it, made it all into a casserole and made sure everything was taken to boiling point

I would discard. Left out at room temperature overnight breaks food hygiene advice. A "cool room" isn't a fridge.

The waste is annoying, but essentially the food was wasted by leaving it out all night.

@Reluctantbettlynch

You're wrong, what's disgusting is eating old food and I refuse to do that. Since you have such a lovely attitude you have my formal invitation to come get all the old food out of my overflowing bins. And when you stop by, I'll come outside and wave and tell you thank you for taking my rubbish and I'll give you more to take away

@BarbaraofSeville

You're right about me never buying loose fruit, only prepackaged and meat from the butcher I'll use it only on the day it was bought

I’m a stickler for use by dates, best before I’ll use judgement but won’t do it with meat, fish or chicken as food poisoning isn’t something to be messed around with.