Arrgh dead fridge, how long can my food survive?

[IHeartKingThistle]

I came home from doing a MASSIVE food shop earlier to find a totally dead fridge. After some frantic phone calls I have managed to borrow a small fridge and my meat etc. is now in there. However I picked the shopping up at 10 and didn't get it into the fridge until 12.45, so nearly 3 hours. It's all for a party on Sat - can I still feed the chicken, smoked salmon etc. to my friends or will I poison them?????

Bump - I need help!

It wil be totally fine. It's bloody cold out. It may have been a different matter in the mid summer, but provided you didn't leave it resting on the top of a radiator whilst you got the temporary fridge sorted there's no problem!

The law gives you 4h out of temperature control for cold foods.

This will include prep time and time on display so if you're just putting the salmon etc on plates & serving it you've got a good hour to display them and be safe.

If you're cooking anything and serving it the law says 2h for hot food on display.

If you're cooking and cooling, cook thoroughly and cool quickly (slice meats/ break curries etc into small portions) and straight into the fridge.

Phew. Hope that helps?

Thanks so much! The chicken is going into a pie which I was going to make today then keep in the fridge until Saturday. The smoked salmon is being made into a dip but I won't do that until the day. Think that'll be OK?

Pie to be served cold by the way.

Problem is, I FEEL anxious about it - is peace of mind worth the price of a new pack of chicken?

Assuming you cook it thoroughly and cool it quickly the pie will be fine. The coking reduces the bacteria to a safe level.

But if you're going to spend the next 2 days waiting for a phone call that your family have been wiped out by D&V then, yes, get a fresh pack!