tuna salad - room temp for 3 hours - ok to eat?

[Anonymous]

title says it all. We brought it home bought prepared from Wegmans and left it on the counter by accident. It was at room temp for about 3 hours. Can't decide if it will be ok. I was thinking that kids take it to school for lunch and it certainly sits at room temp for a while right?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Unless it's in the hot sun outside, it's fine!

[Anonymous]

When in doubt, toss it out. Better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

Toss it. Rule of thumb: 2 hrs max.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:title says it all. We brought it home bought prepared from Wegmans and left it on the counter by accident. It was at room temp for about 3 hours. Can't decide if it will be ok. I was thinking that kids take it to school for lunch and it certainly sits at room temp for a while right?

Don't you put an ice pack in your kids' lunch bag? If not, you should.

[Anonymous]

thanks - I went ahead and threw it out.

[Anonymous]

I have gotten sick twice in my life from deli tuna salad. I think you made the right choice by tossing it.

[Anonymous]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/help/faqs_hotline_preparation/index.asp#6

Is it safe to eat leftover food that was left out on the counter to cool at dinnertime, then forgotten until morning? Will additional cooking kill the bacteria that may have grown?
No. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, some doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Some types will produce toxins that are not destroyed by cooking.

Pathogenic bacteria do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food. In other words, one cannot tell that a food has been mishandled or is dangerous to eat. For example, food that has been left too long on the counter may be dangerous to eat, but could smell and look fine. If a food has been left in the "Danger Zone" – between 40 and 140 °F – for more than 2 hours, discard it, even though it may look and smell good. Never taste a food to see if it is spoiled.
(Sources: Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency; Fighting BAC!® by Chilling Out; Refrigeration and Food Safety.)


You made the right decision in throwing it out.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the back up on this. Believe it or not this turned into an argument and I was being ridiculous and wasteful.

[Anonymous]

I would have eaten it! My mom sent tuna sandwiches to school with us for lunch all the time, so that sat in our classroom closet from about 8:30 a.m. until lunchtime. YUM. Tuna. . .

[Anonymous]

I routinely eat food that has been left out for 4,5, or 6 hours and have never been sick. I don’t eat any salads with mayo that’s been left out tho- my mom said not to. Lol.

[Anonymous]

I have been sending tuna without an ice pack with my son who is a HS senior since kindergarten. The tuna is freshly made though..maybe that matters.

[Anonymous]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scombroid_food_poisoning?wprov=sfti1

Fish especially dangerous, imagine severe allergic reaction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.fsis.usda.gov/help/faqs_hotline_preparation/index.asp#6

Is it safe to eat leftover food that was left out on the counter to cool at dinnertime, then forgotten until morning? Will additional cooking kill the bacteria that may have grown?
No. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, some doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Some types will produce toxins that are not destroyed by cooking.

Pathogenic bacteria do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food. In other words, one cannot tell that a food has been mishandled or is dangerous to eat. For example, food that has been left too long on the counter may be dangerous to eat, but could smell and look fine. If a food has been left in the "Danger Zone" – between 40 and 140 °F – for more than 2 hours, discard it, even though it may look and smell good. Never taste a food to see if it is spoiled.
(Sources: Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency; Fighting BAC!® by Chilling Out; Refrigeration and Food Safety.)


You made the right decision in throwing it out.

I disagree. I use the 2 hour rule for something that is open, like food on plates or dishes, exposed to the air. Something like deli tuna which is in an airtight sealed container is not going to be spawning bacteria out of nothing. There are not going to be that many bacteria inside the sealed container. Most bacteria comes from air that is circulating around the food, pushed around by your HVAC system or outside. Unless the place you purchased the tuna has an excess of bacteria that got into the air that was contained in the container before they sealed it, then there are not that many bacteria spoors to reproduce. Bacteria do not spontaneously multiple and produce. They have to have spoors from somewhere. If you are afraid that the deli counter has so many bacteria spoors in the air that can be captured in the small amount of air at the top of the container before they snap that lid on, you need to shop somewhere else.

A just purchased container that is air sealed should be fine after 3 hours sitting out. I would not have thrown out that container. Also anything vacuum packaged is going to be safe.

[Anonymous]

No way. I would not eat it.