food safety question...to use or not?

I have a beautiful flat Prime Brisket I got at Costco a couple of weeks ago that i was going to BBQ last night.

Yesterday morning (Saturday) the DW said the water wasn't cold in the fridge. I realized the fridge had beed turned off . This most likely happened Thursday night. When she buys too much crap for the freezer and has to put things inthe ice keeper they sometimes can brush past the control for the freezer.

I took the brisket out of my meat keeper and moved it to my downstairs fridge. the nice top sirloin steak i had was starting to change color and the beautiful strip steak I had in the meat keeper had an internal temprature of 60 degrees the brisket felt cooler than that and I didn't break the seal to test the temprature.

So now I'm wondering whether to use this beautiful prime brisket or if I need to throw it out. My better judgement tells me to toss it but I thought I'd throw it out there to see what others thought.

keep it or toss it??

thanks

Keep, cook, dine!

(barring discoloration, bubbles in the cryovac, smell when you open it, and if nothing looks or smells spoiled or fuzzy....of course...)

I'd eat it, what dosent kill you only makes you stronger But I would wait for someone with some food saftey knowledge to weigh in. Kevin?

Brandon

At 60 degrees, bacteria will multiply. Not quickly, but they will. If the meat wasn't frozen and went for 48 hours in those temps (potentially...) toss it. I feel for you.

My concern would be one of quality, not so much safety. There will be growth of any bacteria present but the most of the expected pathogens either don't grow fast at the temps noted and/or are poor competitors with spoilage bacteria.

Likely cooktemps and the fact that brisket is not tender until it is well above the temps necessary for pasteurization would also help my lack of concern on the safety front. (Phil, are you seeing something else?)

Spoilage bacteria growth is likely to be significant. Though the cooking would also handle those, spoilage bacteria in large numbers can lead to odors and off-flavors that survive cooking.

well it was in the fridge which turned off on Thursday and we discovered it was of on saturday am it still fest cold and meat inhe same compartment was 60 degrees

Unless soemone else weighs in I may cook it tommorow night and warn my family.

What the heck ..serve it to family, I sure wouldnt want to lose any friends!!! lol

but seriously I don't want to make anyone sick!!!

And Scott, pathogenic bacteria don't always create foul smells, nor are their toxins removed from cooking. So neither of those suggestions are safe assumptions.

Ouch. I had to toss a turkey under similar circumstances. Hurts, don't it?

Anyway, I've had food poisoning. Twice, in fact. It's not a joke nor is it fun. Why risk it? Meat is cheap. Health is not.

I say toss it. Sorry.

I've had it many times. Not fun. But I'm not seeing much in the way of a risk here.

Pathogens don't have an odor at all, nor do they create odors.

Which of the toxigenic bacteria will produce heat-stable toxins in the circumstance noted?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
I've had it many times. Not fun. But I'm not seeing much in the way of a risk here.

Pathogens don't have an odor at all, nor do they create odors.

Which of the toxigenic bacteria will produce heat-stable toxins in the circumstance noted? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Boy, it's been years and years since I took microbiology. But, I believe that there are several strains of Staphylococcus aureus that could meet the criteria. Heat stable toxins, facultative, found everywhere.

One has to understand that the product may (MAY) have been subjected to temperature abuse somewhere along the line before the product has even reached the consumer. Such temperature abuse is probably more common than we'd like to acknowledge. Previous temperature abuse would only serve to increase the likelihood of a problem with meat known to be stored improperly at home.

Tricky question. The refer was turned off on Thursday. 60 degree product found Saturday. Product rechilled at that time. We can't know what the thaw profile looked like inside the refer. We can assume that the product spent many hours in an environment above 39 degrees with increasing temp throughout (and increasing microbiological activity). This is not good.

Had you found it Friday, I would have said cook it. I think 2 days is one too many.

The deciding factor is the cook itself. You are going to spend precious time and money doing the cook. It would really suck if the flavor was off after that, even if you don't have any health effects.

Best Luck

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Boy, it's been years and years since I took microbiology. But, I believe that there are several strains of Staphylococcus aureus that could meet the criteria. Heat stable toxins, facultative, found everywhere. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Staph. aureus is a lousy competitor with spoilage bacteria--which is why it isn't considered much of a concern with raw meats; it's with cooked foods (especially those that are handled after cooking, like pork or beef that is pulled, poultry that is chopped for salads, etc.) where the concern is greatest because spoilage bacteria were eliminated or reduced to the point where they pose no competitive threat to Staph., so that Staph. that appear due to post cook contamination (from handling, as noted, sneezes, coughs, etc.) can get a hold and grow. Optimum growth temps for Staph. are well above 60F also and, again, a lack of competitive spoilage organisms is essential. Staph. outgrowth needs to be substantial for it to become toxigenic. It needs growth to 10^5 to 10^6/g and, though it can grow from 44-118F, it needs 104-113 for optimum toxin production.

It's up to the cook to decide, not me. I'm just offering my view. Were it me, however, my concern would be more on the quality front, not safety.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Boy, it's been years and years since I took microbiology. But, I believe that there are several strains of Staphylococcus aureus that could meet the criteria. Heat stable toxins, facultative, found everywhere. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Staph. aureus is a lousy competitor with spoilage bacteria--which is why it isn't considered much of a concern with raw meats; it's with cooked foods (especially those that are handled after cooking, like pork or beef that is pulled, poultry that is chopped for salads, etc.) where the concern is greatest because spoilage bacteria were eliminated or reduced to the point where they pose no competitive threat to Staph., so that Staph. that appear due to post cook contamination (from handling, as noted, sneezes, coughs, etc.) can get a hold and grow. Optimum growth temps for Staph. are well above 60F also and, again, a lack of competitive spoilage organisms is essential. Staph. outgrowth needs to be substantial for it to become toxigenic. It needs growth to 10^5 to 10^6/g and, though it can grow from 44-118F, it needs 104-113 for optimum toxin production.

It's up to the cook to decide, not me. I'm just offering my view. Were it me, however, my concern would be more on the quality front, not safety. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You may be correct. My thought was that many/most of the competitors were being at least partially inhibited by the packaging process.

The USDA/FSIS says that no biological hazard is likely in carcass parts, but an unusually high level of contamination or improper handling and storage (refrigeration) may cause Staph aureus to become a hazard.

I'd throw it out.