Urgent food safety advice - aibu to feed my son this?

[Anxiousidiotic]

I've got about 10 minutes to decide if I can feed my 11 year old a ready meal that's currently heating in the microwave. I'm pretty anxious and prone to catastrophising.

We bought it at about 5.30/6pm from the freezer section of the local shop and it's been in a bag ever since and therefore defrosting at room temperature. I was planning to cook it much sooner and should have put it in the fridge but couldn't. It's meant to be cookfrom frozen. So, it's been out of the freezer for around 3.5-4 hours which I think is way over the recommended limit for countertop defrosting.

Basically, aibu to feed this to my child? Please be kind as this is something I really struggle with.

U: bin
Not U: eat

Eat it. It's fine.

Of course it will be fine

Why would it make a difference if it’s cooked from frozen or thawed?

As long as it wasn't warm before it was cooked it'll be fine. Even then I doubt they'd be a problem!

I think it will be totally fine, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Yes its fine. Always try to use your logical brain rather than your emotional feelings when thinking about stuff that you're anxious about.

I’d leave something to defrost on the counter all day without a second thought.

The official guidelines say not to do this, which is why I'm worried.

Heat it through thoroughly and it will be fine

This.

If it tips into day 2, that's too much for me. Same day, cook well - it's fine.

I have nothing else for him to eat apart from fruit, pasta, bread or a takeaway, and we are very hungry. Also, it was expensive. Otherwise I'd bin it and eat something else.

Just ensure that it is throughly cooked.

This is totally fine. It won't even have got out of the danger zone most likely - it would take more than 4 hours to fully thaw.

What guidelines?

I clicked the wrong option, sorry OP. Of course it'll be absolutely fine.

These ones from the Food Standards Agency

Just ensure that it’s hot the whole way through and it will be fine.

That page also says you can keep chilled foods out of refrigeration for up to 4 hours

• keep chilled food out of the fridge for the shortest time possible during preparation (a maximum of four hours)

Remember that guidelines are written to be the simplest thing to remember - if they wrote a guideline involving a scenario like defrosting something on the counter, it makes it too complicated, so it's simpler for them to say only defrost things in the fridge.

It'll be absolutely fine. Eat it and enjoy it.

Ok, we ate it (it was delicious and very welcome after a long day). I'll update tomorrow if we get the 💩or the 🤒