To eat this pasta bake tonight?

[BlueBoatVillage]

Argh, made a lovely pasta bake last night and did enough for tonight as well as today is going to be manic so won’t really have much time to cook.

We ate half of it and it was on the side, cooling down. I put cling film over it, with the intention of putting it in the fridge once cooled (as I usually do)

Came down this morning and realised I’d forgotten to put it in the fridge I did so straight away when I realised.

Do you think it would be okay to eat tonight or should I bin it?

I wouldn’t if it had chicken in it otherwise I would

Lots of elements of lifestyle then were better than today (other than smoking being prevalent.) Medical interventions, screening and treatments have improved which has increased life expectancy but people actually used to eat more healthily and exercise more than today.

It will be fine, bacon not as risky as chicken or fish. Just heat it well.

The pasta itself is the problem, aside from what else is in it.

https://essentialfoodhygiene.co.uk/how-to-store-cooked-pasta-safely-without-risking-food-poisoning/

Think cooked pasta is low-risk? Think again.
Just like rice, cooked pasta can turn dangerous if you leave it sitting around. We’re talking about a real food safety threat here — not just a soggy dinner. That’s because starchy foods (like pasta) are breeding grounds for Bacillus cereus, a bacteria that can cause nasty food poisoning if not handled properly.

When to Chuck It: Pasta Disposal Rules
It sat out at room temperature for more than 2 hours

Well, I actually think most people just put their food in the fridge instead of leaving it on the counter.

The bacon has plenty of salt in it to keep it fresh. I would eat it.

Id eat it, just make sure it's heated right through

You shouldn't put hot food in the fridge though - you should be leaving it to cool to room temperature before refrigerating it.

I often leave stuff in the oven or microwave to cool down and forget about it overnight. It's never made me sick yet.

We do this ALL the time and never been sick
It wouldn't bother me at all

I’ve done this a million times before. Just make sure it’s reheated thoroughly but if you’re not happy to eat it then don’t. I’ve never suffered consequences but it is annoying when you realise you’ve left it out. I wouldn’t eat it in a heatwave though, my kitchen is cold during the night.

Unless your house is like a sauna it'll be fine.

It will be fine. I frequently do this.

Cooked pasta and rice both produce optimum growing conditions for bacillus cereus if left out at room temperature.

This is a colourless odourless bacteria that produces toxins that are not destroyed by reheating.

2-3 hours out to cool then refrigerated for a a few days, and you'll almost 100% be fine.

48 hours at room temperature and you'll probably get ill. This is the point where you see articles in the news about liver failure in bad cases etc.

Personally, for me, overnight at room temperature would be a bit too much of a risk considering it's a colourless odourless bacteria that produces toxins that can't be destroyed by reheating. everyone has their own point at which they wouldn't risk it.

In commercial food hygiene circumstances pasta and rice are treated the same way.

If its been in the fridge maybe but a young lad died only a few years ago after eating pasta that had been left out for 5 days

Bacon has preservatives in it and is safer than uncured pork. I would eat it. Before refrigerators became common people kept their food overnight in a safe or larder and there were no mass deaths from food poisoning. Just use common sense. A few hours won’t have made your pasta inedible, but a pasta with uncured meat or seafood might be too high a risk. At this time of year in an unheated kitchen there is less of a risk.

Five days is very, very different to overnight

It will be completely fine. Don’t waste perfectly good food.

I would eat it unless there is meat or fish in in. Is your heating on? Mine isn’t so my kitchen is not overly hot, people used to leave food in room temperatures for years before everyone had fridges and freezers.

I am honestly baffled by those that would bin it. I would stick it in the fridge and eat it without a second thought - something with fish might give me pause but otherwise not.

I regularly leave things out overnight, the only time I've had food poisoning it was from a restaurant <shrugs>

I guess if there is anyone immuno-commpromised or otherwise I'd unwell I'd deter them from eating it.

As PP said, if contains seafood then bin it but otherwise it was only overnight so not a whole day. Also, it wasn’t the height of summer so all things combined I’d 100% eat it piping hot out the oven with no qualms at all!

Realistically you’ll probably be absolutely fine but for the sake of peace of mind and a tenner, I’d just pick something easy up for dinner tonight and bin it. Get a nice pie or a lasagne or something

I’m immunocompromised and would still eat it
wouldn't if it was chicken (which I don’t eat anyway) or fish/seafood

I was replying to someone who said that they had read you can eat pasta for 3 - 5 days after its been cooked to which I said probably if in the fridge but not out as someone had died from that you really need to read the actual posts to get the context

heat it up slowly and really well until it is very hot. Should be fine.

For me, these threads show how many people have had severe food poisoning ( or know someone close to them who have) and those who haven’t had it.

I’m a fan of using and eating leftovers, but only when stored and cooked correctly which unfortunately this pasta bake has not. Pasta can grow dangerous bacteria, just like rice and so for me, it wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Comparing things to what we did years ago isn’t always helpful because as another poster has pointed out, some homes have very different conditions. My kitchen was over 21c all night…I wouldn’t eat leftovers intended for the fridge that I forgot about in those temps.

My dad was always firmly in the “I’ve been doing it for years and I’ve never been sick” camp…until he wasn’t. Then one time, he was very ill with food poisoning for 3 weeks and ended up in hospital. He’s doesn’t do what he’s been doing for years anymore!