AIBU to consider eating chicken left out overnight

[Swer987]

A few weeks ago I batch cooked some meals and chucked a few in the freezer. One is a chicken and veg dish with a tomato based sauce.

I took one of these out of the freezer last night and left it on the side to start to thaw a bit, meaning to put it in the fridge before bed. Completely forgot to, so it was still on the side when I got up this morning. It’s been out for about 14 hours. The room is not particularly warm.

I’ve put it in the fridge now, plan to microwave it for dinner tonight.

AIBU to consider eating this or should I chuck it?

I would eat with no issue whatsoever.

I defrost most of my food overnight on the counter. Never had food poisoning.

I always defrost stuff overnight on the worktop, then refrigerate when thawed. We don't get upset stomachs.

As long as it's properly cooked, it should be fine imo.

I would but if you dont have a good constitution or are pregnant then you shouldnt.

I always defrost on the counter overnight, except in hot weather , and have never had food poisoning. Just be sure to heat it through thoroughly.

I always leave chicken pizza/curry leftovers out on the side from takeaway and have them for brekkie (tramp I know) and have never had an issue in all these years.

It has almost certainly grown harmful bacteria, it can do that in 4 hours at room temp. Reheating until it is piping hot should kill off the bacteria, but the thought for me is too gross to consider doing it. If it has rice or pasta, no, because bacteria in those cause a toxin to be produced that heating does not destroy.

Have a really good sniff of it, and if it smells ok, just get it down your neck.

People are so cats bum face about food hygiene sometimes.

I honestly thought everyone defrosted food by leaving it out at room temperature over night? If I defrosted things in the fridge it would take about 2 days!

That's how I defrost everything! On the side overnight then into the fridge in the morning. It's fine

Yeah me too, I though that’s how everyone did it?!

I think MN is really weird about potential food germs sometime s

Raphael34
Food poisonning can occur within a short period depending on the bacteria and the % in the food.

"The vomiting and diarrhoea usually start hours or a very few days after eating the infected food."
patient.info/digestive-health/diarrhoea/food-poisoning

Immediately 'went through' sounds not quite right but 'within a couple hours' does although you could get stomach cramps starting earlier if you've a sensitive stomach /or high percentage bad bacteria already grown in the food.

I do this all the time on purpose

Eat it! If it's gone off your nose will soon let you know about it.

Do people not realise rice can grow bacteria which produce a toxin. Reheating thoroughly will kill off the bacteria but not the toxin?

Just because most people are pretty resilient doesn't mean you get away with it every time.

I did a food hygiene course and what's proposed is certainly risky

I'd eat it

I'm doing a degree in Environmental health. I'd chuck it.

I'd definite eat it.

Thanks all. I’m going to eat it.

14 hours from frozen in a cool room, I'd trust it once heated through really thoroughly, and I'm ultra careful with chicken.

If it has rice or pasta, no, because bacteria in those cause a toxin to be produced that heating does not destroy.

This isn’t true for pasta. It can be true for rice.

Was it in a sealed container? If it was in a sealed container, the only bacteria that can grow are those that were already in it when it went into the deepfreeze (provided they can withstand freezing).

Little it is true for pasta as well - a student died after eating pasta that had been out for several days.

I would eat the chicken though, and I'm really cautious about food hygiene generally.

Bacillus cereus pasta

I'd eat it. I regularly leave left over take-aways in the kitchen if there isn't enough room in the fridge and re-heat the next day. My kitchen is always cold though and I reheat it to boiling/sizzling point.

I've been re-heating cooked takeaway rice in the microwave for over 30 years and none of us - Me, DH or DS - has ever been ill with food poisoning. If it's only 24/48 hours old, has been kept cold or chilled and you cook it so it's hot enough for long enough it's fine.

When you think about what our ancestors used to eat - you know, those that survived the hideous diseases - we really are lucky and I think we are so very risk averse to things that we shouldn't be. Can you imagine a 16th century peasant refusing to eat meat that hadn't been chilled within 24 hours of cooking?

But then we quite happily eat meat that has been hung and matured for 30+ days? And then we also have people who love the cheese that is so mature that it only becomes edible when it has maggots crawling through it.

I think we are a bit conflicted about it to be honest.

I agree about rice, I’ve been reheating rice for 2-3 days with no ill effects for many years.

That article about pasta is terrifying but makes sense when you see that the pasta was kept out for 5 days.

You can reheat rice and pasta, as long as it's cooled down quickly and refrigerated, keeping it luke warm is the problem