Will my DH have given DS food poisoning?

[BBQbarbie]

We’ve got some cold chicken legs - ready to eat in the fridge. DS (5) said he doesn’t like them cold, my DH decided to warm them up in the air fryer for a few minutes then gave to DS. He’s now eaten them. I’ve come downstairs and he’s told me this and I’m not impressed. DH said because they’re fine to eat cold then it won’t be a problem. But I thought chicken needed to be cooked through to piping hot, even if it’s ready to eat.

you can see how in restaurants etc where food might sit around the guidelines need to be more stringently enforced.

Yes. A buffet that keeps food piping hot is generally fine, but if one of the burners goes out under a chafing dish full of seafood chowder, things can get pretty lively after a couple of hours at 45°. 🤢 Good buffets have protocols for throwing stuff away frequently.

However, this is not on the same planet as cold chicken that was heated to around that temperature for two minutes and has been cooling down to room temperature ever since.

No, everyone freaking out will actually understand food safety guidelines!

cooking kills most bacteria but can leave spores.
Cooling it (quickly) keeps it safe to eat.
Keeping it cold means any bacteria is left dormant.
Keeping it out of chill and letting it get warm (either by not heating enough or just leaving it out) causes any bacteria left to double and spores to “hatch” with more bacteria - which then doubles

is the ops child likely to have food poisoning - no. It was taken out, wasn’t in the danger zone (warm) for long and eaten straight away
Is it possible - yes

It doesn't matter if it was pre-cooked. If you serve it warm it will have bacteria in it - our friend salmonella since it's chicken. If you read the packaging it will point out that food must be properly heated if not eaten cold.
Mind, in this case unlikely harm will come - but it could. OP's DH needs a lesson in Home Economics, on food safety.

It’s totally fine, it’s cooked already. Always shocks me how obsessive people on MN are about food stuff like checking dates.

Useful for food companies to sell more food due to waste.

Not very useful above general food common sense and a waste of time and money for most of us.

Reading this it's no wonder food waste is so high.

Of course reheating leftovers is fine. People have been doing this for ever with no ill effects!

This is bollocks.

Not all chicken has salmonella in it. A small percentage do and the likelihood is it was killed in the first cooking.

The risk perception on MN is crazy. Your drive to pliates is a much bigger risk of death than reheated chicken.

How many of the people who insist it must be heated through properly would eat some leftover chicken that had been out of the fridge for, say, 10 mins? It wouldn't be cold anymore, it would be in that danger zone of temperature. But most people would think that's totally fine.

I wouldn't worry about it

No your son is not at risk as I'm sure you've already discovered. In response to the person who noted your stomach is at 37 degrees it should be pointed out that it is also full of acid which does kill most bacteria. Salmonella requires quite a large inoculum to cause disease. As long as the chicken was properly cooked and cooled there is no risk from the way your DH prepared it.

I do this all the time. I've never had any problem.

Why are you feeding your kids the corpses of one of the most abused beings on this earth. Shame on you.....

You have misunderstood.

Chicken needs to be thoroughly cooked first time around. Reheat quickly, not necessarily to 'original cooking temp', then eaten.

Manufacturers say 'do not reheat' to protect themselves.

some food hygiene training may help you…
it’s perfectly fine to heat ready to eat food. What isn’t advised is to heat ready to eat food more than once.

Absolutely fine (and I have food safety qualifications). You’re thinking of raw chicken or heating up cooked chicken and then leaving it in a warm room or similar for a prolonged period eg several hours.

You're meant to heat them to a certain temperature usually, to kill any bacteria that is there. It doesn't mean that it's dangerous though, but more risky.

I recently ate some undercooked raw chicken and survived unscathed!

But like many others I always thought that if you were reheating pre-cooked chicken, you should get it up to temperature to be safe. I remember a colleague asking for a chicken and something panini in the canteen and they were told that they weren't allowed to put chicken in the toaster as it didn't get hot enough for long enough so was dangerous...

Plus, a few years ago I saw a gastroenterologist when I'd been ill for 8 weeks. He grilled me (hohoho) on what I'd eaten before it started, and I mentioned a warm chicken salad. He rolled his eyes, groaned and said "HOW warm??". Which indicates to me that a certain temperature is required.

PS OP don't worry it wasnt the warm chicken in the end.

It’s no from me. Cold or fully heated in the oven.

Warm Chicken Salad, hate seeing that on a menu!

Any update OP

He'll be absolutely fine.

I've put BBQ chicken in both the microwave and the air fryer more times than I remember and lived to tell the tale, as did my DCs.

Ugh same! Whaddya mean "warm"? Warm as in cooked fresh today an hour ago, or warm as in cooked yesterday, refrigerated then warmed up by sitting out in the kitchens/under lights for 4 hours?

Crikey...

It is a very nuanced issue. The guidelines that apply to a food service situation are designed to keep "the general public" safe regardless of age, health condition, pregnancy, etc.

At home, in a situation where the family members are in good health, nobody is imunocompromised, and everyone is between the ages of 2 and 65, you don't need to adhere to food service guidelines to the letter. There is quite a lot of leeway, in fact.

I've never seen it on a menu

Warm Chicken Salad, hate seeing that on a menu!

Why? Unless you eat very fast, most of your food will be warm by the time you've finished eating it! What's wrong with cooking some chicken, letting it cool for a few minutes, then putting it in a salad?!

Lol - so true.