I Forgot And Left My Elk Steaks Sitting Out All Night... Are They Still Safe To Cook?

Barbecue pork with vegetables on wooden background

Eating meat that was left out overnight could give you lot food poisoning.

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Yous wake upwards in the morning and realize you lot forgot to put the leftover meat in the refrigerator before you lot went to bed last night. The meat wasn't raw and information technology looks fine, smells fine and tastes fine, and then eating it should be fine, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way.

Tip

Eating meat that was left out overnight could give you lot nutrient poisoning.

Understanding Pathogenic Bacteria

The USDA notes that there are 2 types of bacteria: pathogenic bacteria and spoilage leaner. Spoilage bacteria causes the food to start smelling and tasting funny, but consuming it won't harm you. Pathogenic bacteria, on the other hand, is harmful bacteria that doesn't touch on the gustation or smell of the nutrient in whatsoever way but tin can cause you lot to fall sick.

Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are some of the types of pathogenic bacteria listed past the Centers for Affliction Command and Prevention.

The USDA explains that pathogenic bacteria thrive between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Room temperature usually falls in this temperature range, known as the danger zone. In this temperature range, pathogenic bacteria tin can sometimes double in number within a bridge of 20 minutes.

If leaner can double in just 20 minutes, imagine the numbers if the meat has been left out overnight. The USDA states that any nutrient that has been left out at room temperature for over two hours should be discarded. If the temperature is above 90 F, the window is i hour.

Since pathogenic leaner doesn't bear on the taste, smell or sight of food in any way, you have no way of knowing whether it'south there. You may feel bad about throwing abroad meat that looks perfectly fine, but information technology'due south improve to be safety than sorry.

In order to be considered safe for consumption, meat needs to be cooked to to a higher place 145 F. Ground meat needs to cantankerous an internal temperature of 160 F, and poultry needs to cross 165 F. If you're non eating the meat right away, you demand to store it in the refrigerator at temperatures below twoscore F.

Consequences of Eating Contaminated Meat

According to the USDA, consuming pathogenic leaner causes food poisoning and results in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year. Diarrhea, nausea, airsickness, stomach cramps and fever are the nigh common symptoms of food poisoning. They can announced every bit early on as iv hours after eating contaminated food or equally tardily as a week after eating information technology. They tin last from anywhere between a day to a week.

The USDA notes that some groups of people are more likely to fall ill than others; these include pregnant women, children, older adults and people with weakened amnesty, like transplant patients and people with diabetes, kidney disease, cancer or HIV/AIDS. For these groups with increased vulnerability, food poisoning can fifty-fifty be fatal.

Apart from food poisoning, consuming pathogenic bacteria could have other consequences as well. A March 2022 written report published in the journal Diseases links Salmonella consumption to cancer besides as inflammatory conditions like bowel illness. Another study, published in the Apr 2022 issue of the journal Pediatrics in Review, links E. coli to urinary tract infections, septicemia and meningitis in children.