reheating improperly stored pasta sauce and meatballs [duplicate]

My meatballs and pasta sauce were left out in 55F temps for 18 hours. I'm guessing I should toss the homemade meatballs with commercial pasta sauce? They were thoroughly cooked, then covered to cool before refrigeration. It didn't make it to the fridge, sadly. Can I re-heat to temps above 175F to salvage the food?

kitchen-safety

Best Answer

Reheating the sauce containing the meatballs, the meatballs alone or the sauce alone would not be a good idea. 18 hours is a long time for bacteria development. I don't think you would necessarily get sick from reheating it and eating it but because of the time it stayed outside safe temperature and the bacteria development that followed, I cannot recommend such course of action. My recommendation is to throw it all away and be more careful next time.

When you cook, you should ideally cover the food partially and put it in the fridge right away if you own a large commercial fridge, and 20 minutes later if you own a normal household refrigerator. If you cover the food/sauces completely, chances are it will turn sour and goes bad. Partially covering hot preparation is paramount when cooling it down.

Hope I answered your question.

Cheers.

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How long can you keep leftover spaghetti and meatballs in the fridge?

3-5 days. We normally recommend eating your leftovers the next day or within 2 days, this is due to the to go containers we use not being airtight.

Is spaghetti sauce OK left out overnight?

The USDA says food that has been left out of the fridge for more than two hours should be thrown away. At room temperature, bacteria grows incredibly fast and can make you sick. Reheating something that has been sitting at room temperature for longer than two hours won't be safe from bacteria.

What happens if you eat meat that has been left out?

The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and prostration. Some individuals may not always demonstrate all the symptoms associated with the illness. In more severe cases, headache, muscle cramping, and changes in blood pressure and pulse rate may occur. Recovery generally takes two days.

How long can you leave pasta sauce out?

You may be wondering how long spaghetti sauce can sit out. Generally speaking, you shouldn't leave spaghetti sauce at room temperature for more than a total of two hours maximum. After two hours, dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, B. cereus, and Listeria can grow and cause foodborne illness in some individuals.

Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs | Indian recipes | Radha samayal ulagam.

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