Forgot to put shopping away. AIBU to ask does it need to be thrown out?

[useorbin]

We went shopping this afternoon and called into M&S for things for a quick dinner this evening. Totally forgot to put the shopping away so it’s all been inside a bag on the counter. Items taken out of the supermarket fridge at about 3pm and only just realised about the bag, so circa 3.5hrs out the fridge/freezer.

Some frozen oven chips, and DH got himself some chilled breaded chicken type strips. Rest of us are having veggie stuff from the freezer.

It feels like the chips have kept everything feeling quite cool, but are completely defrosted themselves.

From a food hygiene standpoint, are they still ok to eat? We’d be cooking soon. Mainly thinking of DHs chicken but also the chips that were next to it, whether they could be unsafe to eat having shared a bag with chicken getting warmer

Sorry if it’s rambly - rushing about! But WWYD mumsnetters?

Eat it. Cook the chicken thoroughly as usual.

Would eat without a second thought. Cook the chips a bit less than normal

Yeah no problem, I would eat.

I would cook and eat it all.

Unless you left them on top of a turned on radiator or something I would expect them to be fine when cooked.
Defrosted chicken won't go bad in the space of a few hours.
Edit: I see the chicken wasn't even frozen. It's fine.

Wouldn’t worry about it at all

I never put shopping away when I get home (except frozen) and never had a problem

Should be OK. Eat it up.

Chicken was from the fridge section, not defrosted.

i wouldn’t worry about it.

Just cook it all now , will be fine.

Cook it and eat it !

It’ll be absolutely fine.

Chips are made from potatoes, they have now thawed, Just cook for a little bit less time - so cooked and not burnt !

Breaded chicken - is it raw breaded chicken or precooked breaded chicken ?

I work in a supermarket, and chilled left behinds have to be back in the fridge with 20 mins, or they become ' waste '
now we all know it takes most people longer than 20 mins to buy their shopping / pack it and get home, whether it be by walking / catching a bus or driving.

Me ? personally, I would still eat the chicken.

Would the chips be ok? Obviously they were in a separate bag but sitting on top of the chicken. I’m not worried for me more my DC. But appreciate it’s probably OTT to even have this thought in my head.

Chips will be fine cooked now but not any left over

Was chicken raw or cooked?

Raw breaded I believe

It’s raw 😅

I still think the raw chicken will be fine cooked

well the frozen chips will have kept the chicken cooler for a while

They will be fine. They're just chips

The chips will have been keeping the chicken cold enough.

If it looked like any packets had blown then I'd think about it

Potatoes are stored at room temperature, and even peeled ones are fine. The chips aren’t going to make you or anyone ill. And the frozen chips will have kept the chicken cooler too.

Anything that is going to be cooked will be absolutely fine. Even the defrosted frozen chips, although the texture might be a bit odd.

By the way, the rule of thumb for leaving perishable foods (like sandwiches) at room temperature, is they are fine for up to 4 hours. And that's stuff that's not going to be cooked.

It's cool today so they should be OK. Don't freeze defrosted food. Chips for tea!

The chips were frozen, so they will have kept the chicken quite cool. A couple of hours at room temperature is fine for the chicken anyway, if you make sure you cook it properly.

The chips… what could possibly happen to thawing chips within 3.5 hours? Personally I’d happily re-freeze the rest of the pack. The ones you’re going to eat will need a little less time to cook, and I’d make sure the oven is properly hot before you put them in so they don’t go soggy.