OMG am I gonna die!?

[oselle]

Okay so yesterday I bought some hamburger meat.

Today I came home and cooked that meat. And ate it. I also ate some tomato salad I'd had in the fridge. When I was eating the tomatoes I noticed they seemed unusually warm for something I'd just taken from the fridge. So I looked in the fridge and noticed that everything in there was kind of warm.

!!!!!!!!!!!

The thermometer in the freezer said it was zero, so that was okay. I moved the thermometer into the fridge and it registered SIXTY DEGREES!


!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I turned the fridge all the way up to Max Cold and even now (about 45 minutes later) it's only gotten down to 55 degrees!


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I ate this meat that had been sitting at practically room temperature for the past 24 hours! Not to mention I also ate cheese and salad dressing that might have been sitting around at room temperature for DAYS!

Am I gonna get sick!?!? E-coli? Liver failure?? What!? WHAT!?!?

(Just FYI, the recommended temperature for a refrigerator is no more than 40 degrees.)

Comments

[nwhepcat.livejournal.com]

There's an awesome LJ comm, can_i_eat_this, which is where I'd go right now, if I were you. I wish you all kinds of luck on escaping any unpleasantness.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

But it's too late! I've already eaten it!!!

*sweats*

I think there's diarrhea in my future.

[nwhepcat.livejournal.com]

I know, but they also get many "Should I have eaten this?" queries. The people there seem to know their stuff.

[morganslady.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should call a doctor?? Just to be safe.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna wait till tomorrow and see what happens. The deed is done. It's too late to even puke the stuff up.

Those meat cases at the supermarket are wide open and meat sits there for days. I'm sure it ain't no 35 degrees in there, except maybe way at the back. I cooked it very well (there was no pink in it at all). The cheese and salad dressing -- well it was super-processed American cheese and pretty simple oil-and-vinegar dressing (not creamy stuff). But SHIT I also had a teaspoon of mayonnaise!

I'm doomed.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

Since you cooked the meat - I assume well-cooked - I'd be less worried about that than the tomato salad or the salad dressing. But I ain't no expert. That group mentioned in the first comment sounds like a great place to try.

[mangokulfi.livejournal.com]

You will know soon enough. *EG*

But I don't think you have to worry too much since 60 degrees is still pretty cool. It usually takes a few days for things to go off except for dairy or egg products. That's why mayonaise are can be a problem but that's usually if it is sitting out in the sun. Same goes for hard cheese.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Yipes. That's definitly a wait and see now, I guess. You don't know when the fridge heated up, I suppose.

I'm really glad that lj comm exists for times like this, though!

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

Wish I could offer some constructive advice, but I'm neither a doctor nor the calm type.

Keep the phone nearby in case any cramps get really bad ... and perhaps give some thought to buying a new fridge.

I do hope you'll be okay.

[shoofus.livejournal.com]

studies have shown that people who drink a full glass of wine or possibly two can cut down the incidence of food poisoning after being exposed to possible spoiled food, the alcohol and possibly the acidity of the wine help stop the bacteria from multiplying in one's stomach, check it out, its something to consider

[twirlycurls.livejournal.com]

I'd have at least a bottle to be sure. :)

[shoofus.livejournal.com]

it's as good an excuse as any i've heard :>

[shoofus.livejournal.com]

http://www.thehealthylivingsite.com/2010/07/05/how-to-avoid-warm-weather-food-poisoning/

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Did the salad dressing have mayo as a base? That would be more concern to me than the meat or veggies. I have eaten veggies at room temperature many times -- in fact, I prefer it! The meat should be okay since you fully cooked it.

[twirlycurls.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about it. My sister-in-law is from a third-world country and grew up without a fridge. That's right, no fridge at all. Her family would buy meat at the market and walk home with it and then cook it for dinner and it would be out, unrefrigerated, for a good three-four hours before they ate. Granted they probably built up great immune systems this way but my point is -- none of them are dead from food poisoning. She doesn't even remember anyone ever getting sick.

Talking to her always makes me realize how very spoiled we are here and how much time/energy we waste worrying about things that maybe don't matter as much as we've been told. :)