Can I eat it? Frozen Pepperoni Pizza Left Out Overnight

September 28, 2023 3:55 AM

I have a box of frozen pepperoni pizzas. I left them out overnight. I'm thinking...bread, tomato sauce, cheese, cured meat...it actually sounds like it would be fine, no? Can I just put it in the freezer and act like this never happened?
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Independent of whether it's safe, I would expect the texture of the pizzas to suffer due to the thawing & refreezing. Things like the crust not rising or rising weirdly, the cheese not melting properly, the pepperoni's texture changing, etc.
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:17 AM on September 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

If it's in the unopened box it's probably fine. I personally would eat it but I wouldn't refreeze it (more for texture reasons). Pizza for breakfast!
posted by pianissimo at 4:55 AM on September 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

I would eat it. It's probably technically outside of the USDA 'danger zone' guidelines but those are designed to be overly cautious and idiot proof (which is how they should be, but how I decide when and why I routinely and safely violate them is outside the scope of the is question).
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:35 AM on September 28, 2023

It's less safe but yeah I'd eat it (as soon as possible, ideally without refreezing).
posted by mskyle at 5:56 AM on September 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would eat it.
posted by number9dream at 6:23 AM on September 28, 2023

I think those pizzas will probably not bake properly. I doubt they will be particularly dangerous, I just think being thawed and left to sit around and then frozen again and then baked is going to ruin the rise on the crust.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:07 AM on September 28, 2023

I would eat it, no hesitation. Surely, you've eaten pizza like it before that was left waiting in whatever shipping truck overnight.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:16 AM on September 28, 2023

I would toss it. Eat great food as often as possible.
posted by Czjewel at 7:24 AM on September 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't bother to eat it.

Eating it is playing a lottery where the grand prize is... you didn't need to buy more pizza. The ticket price is, realistically, a lowish probability of spending a day or so not knowing which end to point at the toilet.

I certainly wouldn't put it into the freezer. Refreezing anything fucks it up real hard.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:44 AM on September 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you're not immunocompromised then it's likely safe enough to eat, but there's certainly a higher chance of food poisoning. I'd expect the quality of the product to suffer some with the thaw and refreeze as well. Honestly, I'd chuck it.
posted by Aleyn at 2:15 PM on September 28, 2023

Are the pizzas individually wrapped? (I've never bought a pizza multi-pack.) If not, you might have an issue of the pizzas sticking together when you refreeze them, in which case I'd at least put some wax paper or similar between them.
posted by msbrauer at 3:57 PM on September 28, 2023

If this food item is so delicious/rare/expensive/impossible to replace that you'll still be glad you ate it even while you sit on the toilet a few hours later praying for death, eat it. If not, throw it away.
posted by jesourie at 5:58 PM on September 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

Last time I got food poisoning, I couldn’t eat the food for some months after I got sick. Smelling it wasn’t pleasant either.

In my case it was chicken nuggets, which wasn’t a huge problem.

I’d miss pizza though.

If you’re going to eat one of these and toss the rest, try the one in the middle of the stack.
posted by thenormshow at 11:41 AM on September 29, 2023