People at risk of listeria infections (pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems) should avoid eating hot dogs and lunch meat unless it's been heated to 165*F or above. Listeria infections are commonly linked to deli meats. For those of us that are healthy, eating a cold hot dog or cold deli meat poses little risk of a listeria infection.
Eating a cold piece of leftover pizza or chicken or meatloaf or whatever straight from the refrigerator is fine because it should be under 40*F. Cold pizza I get; cold hot dog I don't.
Outbreak of Listeria Infections Linked to Deli-Sliced Meats and Cheeses
www.cdc.gov
Here's a good place to start, recognizing that these guidelines, while official, are very conservative. If you think about Thanksgiving, it's common for some foods to sit out longer than 2 hours (think cheese ball) and people still eat it and don't get sick or die.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry, Siluriformes, and eggs are safe and are properly labeled and packaged. Learn more about our inspection services and process.
www.fsis.usda.gov
You used to hear talk about the "2 hour/4 hour" rule. USDA doesn't promote this method, but it seems to be common in other locales like Australia. Under this scheme, you keep track of the total time food sits in the "danger zone" between 40-140*F. If it's 2 hours or less, it's OK to eat OR to put back in the refrigerator at 40*F or less. If it's between 2-4 hours, it's OK to eat but not to refrigerate again. If it's over 4 hours, you should throw it away.
From an
Australia website:
"The total time includes all the time the food has been at room temperature, for example during delivery, preparation and transportation.
"Example: A sandwich is freshly prepared at 12 noon and placed in a non-refrigerated display case: (1) Can keep the sandwich out of refrigeration for up to 2 hours (until 2 pm) and then refrigerate and bring out again later in the day, say 4 pm (not to go back into the refrigerator for later use after this point). If not used by 6 pm (4 hours out of temperature control in total) then throw it away, OR (2) Can keep the sandwich out of temperature control (refrigeration) for up to 4 hours straight- until 4 pm- then you need to throw it away."
For barbecued meats, I try to heat to 140*F not so much for food safety, although that's in the back of my mind, but more as a good serving temperature. I don't enjoy cold leftover brisket or pork butt.
