to not want to eat my mum's casserole (and WWYD?)

[SloanyPony]

I'm in Australia visiting my mum at the moment. She is generally a good cook who prepares fairly tasty food. She is competent rather than talented, but generally I have no complaints whatsoever and am grateful that she is looking after us so well while we are staying with her (me, husband, DS and DD)

We have a lot of extra family flying in and coming for dinner tonight, as my daughter is to be baptised tomorrow morning. My mother spent a fair bit of time last night browning off some beef and veg etc for a casserole to go in the slow cooker. There was quite a volume of it because of the large amount of people coming to dinner.

When I was preparing breakfast this morning, she turned the slow cooker on and it dawned on me that she had, after browning it and generally preparing it last night, left it out of the fridge, overnight, ready to cook for a very long time at a very low heat over the course of today, as she "didn't have room in the fridge" for it.

I'm not generally paranoid about food preparation and food germs etc, and will happily make a sandwich from Sunday's roast even up to Wednesday lunch for myself (cast iron stomach) but I have got a certificate in food safety and I dont like to think about how long this meat has been hovering about in the "danger zone"

Should I be worried about myself, my 90 year old grandmother, 2 and a half year old son (thank god the baby is too young for it) among others eating it the night before an important family event? I feel I'm damned if I do and damned if I dont. If I "let" them eat it, and they get poisined, the baptism will not go ahead though that may be the least of our worries, then I'll wish I hadn't, but if I dont, and ruin it for my mother, I'll be called paranoid and drama queen etc and my dad etc will eat it anyway and will no doubt be fine and they'll be very "I told you so" etc.

WTF do I do, and AIBU? What would you do?

I too am in Australia. And it is quite cold in our house overnight. 11 degrees ish.

I think I would eat it but not give it to my two and a half year old or grandmother. Can you not drop it and then weep your apology - race to Coles and whip up a new one?

I left a cooked lamb casserole out last week overnight and my dh ate it the next day for lunch. This is no help at all...

Meh its probably fine. Its bubbling away there now, I can hear it. It doesn't stink or anything, maybe a bit sweaty smelling.

My dad is about to chew on the lamb bone from last week's roast. That will be a week tomorrow. Ah well I guess I should just go with the flow!!! (of vomit) haha hopefully not...

No you won't get food poisoning! If it's cooking and bubbling it'll be fine. Anyway you can't put stuff in the fridge until it's cooled right down so it was probably better off out on the side.

I agree with hanbanan-it wil be fine as long as the temp now is hot enough to boil. Crumbs-it's still common practice in some places to keep meat in a "meat safe".

Do let us know if anything happens.

You are exposing your child to something that could kill because you don't want to hurt your mum's feelings? You eat it if you want, let the 90 year old make up her own mind, but for goodness sake give the baby something else.

slouching, it's being cooked.

Bit OTT slouching.

Oh, difficult one. MY DH and I fight discuss these issues all the time. I am very keen on food safety, and he is NOT... eating Christmas turkey for example towards the end of january.

what temp would it have been overnight where you are? If it was summer there I would say no way at all, but if you are down south in Oz and it is failry wintry, then maybe?

Meh, I do it all the time both here and in Australia. Never had a problem. Does your mum have form for causing food poisoning?

if its hot enouh to bubble then i i would say it would be safe

I would think it's fine once it's bubbling and being well cooked.

There was a thread yesterday...basically there are some bacteria, present in meat and veg that release toxins that are not destroyed during cooking. One poster's food scientist DH came on and explained it.

I wouldn't give it mu child. I might risk it for myself.

I would use it. again as long as its bubbling it should be fine.

Hi Sloaney,

Not great that it was left out overnight but if when it is served it is above 75 degree's all the bacteria that grew overnight, will be killed by the heat. Has to be above this temp though. This is the reason that a lot of people get ill when they re heat food as they stick it in the microwave and think that it's hot enough after a minute!

I'd eat it

Right its night time here. We all ate it (child was in bed so all adults including 90 year old granny)

It was YUMMY

90 year old wet herself but nothing to do with casserole

Bacteria RULES

Sorry for sounding OTT but I know someone whose child spent weeks in hospital with kidney failure from E Coli, and nearly died. I'm very careful now. Just not worth the risk IMO.

What Winnybella said.

The toxins that grow on food left at room temp may not be killed no matter how hot the food gets.