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I took a Cajun Chicken Pasta casserole out of the oven, and after eating, divided the leftovers up and put them in tupperware containers and left them on the counter to cool. Unfortunately, I got distracted and forgot to put the containers in the freezer. From the time they were taken out of the oven to the time I finally stuck them in the freezer was probably 2 1/2 or 3 hours. I keep my house between 70-75 degrees. Should I be concerned about eating them?

EDIT: As stated, I don't feel this is a duplicate question as I'm so close to the "danger zone" in regard to length of time left on the counter.

Robert
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1 Answers1

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Food kept at warm or ambient temperature for over 2 hours is supposed to be discarded.

However in this case the food was too warm for the danger zone for the beginning of this time, in fact for quite a bit of it, and you were only a little over the 2 hours, so it's highly unlikely that you actually exceeded the 2 hour limit. That wouldn't be good enough in the restaurant business but at home you don't have to prove it.

I do this routinely, as I've measured in my (rather cool) kitchen that the things I freeze stay out of the danger zone for over an hour on the surface, the coolest part, and I don't want to add lots of heat to my freezer and spoil the quality of the nearby food.

It's still a judgement call, and remember that time in the danger zone is cumulative, so defrost in the fridge and reheat quickly and thoroughly.

Chris H
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