Eating spoiled cooked food can lead to varying outcomes. While cooking food at high temperatures kills bacteria and other harmful microbes, it doesn’t guarantee the safety of spoiled meat and other foods.
To explore whether it’s ever safe to eat food that’s spoiled, I consulted a nutritionist and reviewed FDA guidelines. I also conducted an experiment by cooking spoiled food to observe changes in texture and flavor.
Here’s what I discovered about the safety of consuming spoiled food after cooking.
Quick Summary
- Cooking at high temperatures can kill pathogenic bacteria, but some heat-resistant toxins and spores remain, making cooked spoiled food unsafe.
- FDA guidelines confirm that even after cooking, spoiled food, especially meat, can still pose serious health risks.
- Spoiled meat can be identified by bad smells, color changes, and slime. For example, off-steak smells like eggs and chicken smells like sulfur.
- Consuming spoiled meat, even if cooked, can lead to food poisoning with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, starting within 1-2 days.
Spoiled Food: Not Just a Bad Taste
Most people have come across moldy bread and spoiled milk in their time. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to eat mold or drink off-milk before realizing it had gone bad, you will know these foods have a distinctive and unpleasant taste.
Spoilage occurs when microbes like bacteria and fungi grow on the food product, making it unsafe to eat. Bacteria and other microbes can grow in the refrigerator or freezer, though at a slower rate than at warmer temperatures [1].
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“Spoilage bacteria can grow at cold temperatures, such as in the refrigerator. Eventually, they cause food to develop off or bad tastes and smells.”
– USDA
Active bacteria from spoiled foods can contaminate other foods and surfaces, such as the kitchen counter. Contaminated food is also unsafe to consume, which is why you should be extremely careful when handling it. For example, never place fried meat on the kitchen block you used to cut the meat when it was raw.
Note: As soon as you spot rotten food in the fridge or freezer, remove it and throw it out.
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. It results from eating chicken or ground beef contaminated with this bacteria. You can kill bacteria, like salmonella, by cooking meat at high enough temperatures, but once the meat is past its use-by date, it should never be eaten, even if cooked.
Overall, consuming food infected with bacteria and mold can cause bigger issues than an unpleasant taste. Eating meat infected with bacteria like E. coli and salmonella can make you sick and lead to serious health issues.
Are Cooked Spoiled Foods Ever Safe to Eat?
No, cooked spoiled foods aren’t ever safe to eat. You might think that once the food is cooked, most bacteria and mold are killed by high temperatures. However, this is wrong, and cooking at a high enough temperature doesn’t safely remove all harmful bacteria.
Some bacteria are heat-resistant or produce toxins and spores that are heat-resistant. The toxins and spores left behind after cooking will still make you sick. Therefore, spoiled food which has been cooked is not considered safe to eat.
If you have raw meat in the fridge that is past its expiration date or shows signs of spoilage, it is never a good idea to eat it. Even meat in the freezer that looks or smells off should be thrown out. Cooking spoiled meat will not make it safe and can result in serious illness.
How to Identify Spoiled Meat?
There are several ways to identify spoiled meat. For one, the smell is a dead giveaway. Steaks that have turned bad might produce an egg-like smell. Meanwhile, off-chicken will have a smell of sulfur.
What’s more, there will be visible changes in bad meat. Steak and other red meat that has turned will have a grey or green tinge. You may also notice slime covering your chicken or fish due to microbial growth on the surface.
Rotten fish can be harder to detect, as its smell remains fishy, though it is more pungent than fresh fish.
Pro tip: When in doubt, always stick to the expiration date provided on the packaging.
The Dangers of Spoiled Meat
The toxins produced by bacterial growth in meat will not only ruin the taste of your delicious recipes, but they can cause severe illness.
If you eat meat that has been contaminated by harmful bacteria like salmonella or E. coli, you could become very sick. Food poisoning symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhea, normally begin within one to two days of eating the harmful microbes.
While not all microbes are bad, you should never eat rancid meat on the off chance that you won’t be ill. Poultry and ground beef pose a higher risk than other meats in terms of bacteria and illness.
Harmful toxins that are heat stable will not be killed regardless of the temperature and cooking time.
FAQs
Will Eating Spoiled Food Give Me Food Poisoning?
Yes, eating spoiled food is likely to give you food poisoning. Some food products are more likely than others to make you sick. Off-steak and chicken are extremely dangerous and should be thrown out. But moldy vegetables can be trimmed to remove the spoiled areas and cooked like normal.
Are Certain Foods More Likely to Cause Illness if Spoiled?
Yes, poultry, ground beef, and seafood are more likely to cause serious illness if spoiled and should never be eaten once past their expiration date, even if cooked.
Is It Safe to Trim Mold Off Food and Eat It?
For hard cheeses and firm vegetables, you can trim off the moldy part with a generous margin. For soft foods like bread, meat, or fruit, discard the entire item.
How Do Expiration Dates Help Prevent Food-Borne Illness?
Expiration dates provide a guideline for the safe consumption period of food, helping to prevent the risk of eating spoiled, potentially harmful products.
What Temperature Range Should Hot Foods Be Kept At?
To prevent microbial growth, keep hot foods at a temperature above 140°F (60°C).
References:
- https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Can-bacteria-grow-in-the-refrigerator
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