Salsa out overnight

September 29, 2014 9:42 AM

Why has this not been asked before? I left half a jar of Green Mountain Gringo hot salsa out overnight. Can I eat it this morning?
posted by c'mon sea legs to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Best answer: I often make fermented salsa that sits at room temperature for about three or four days before I eat it. I think you're safe.
posted by alex1965 at 9:44 AM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I would, yes. I find that anything I've made with a lot of citrus seems to last a lot longer before going off. You'd still dip a chip in the salsa at the end of a Super Bowl party even it had been sitting out for several hours; this is no different.
posted by Diablevert at 9:57 AM on September 29, 2014 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Oh yeah, loaded with acid. Typical airborne bacteria don't stand a chance.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:03 AM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Yup. No problem!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:13 AM on September 29, 2014

Best answer: Yeah, I forget condiments on the counter overnight all the time, including salsa, and I always eat them.
posted by MsMolly at 10:32 AM on September 29, 2014

Best answer: My own rule: if it doesn't smell funny or have obvious mold, it's ok to eat. (YMMV, of course.)
posted by holborne at 11:14 AM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you don't, I will.
posted by headnsouth at 11:41 AM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Do it! I've eaten salsa and more perishable things that have been sitting out for longer. Although I don't advise doing that.

My roommate once told me she ate from a jar of moldy salsa for several days, kept getting sick and didn't notice because the salsa was so spicy. However, that jar of salsa had been open for weeks and weeks and intermittently refrigerated. I guess it was a very large jar? I wasn't there so this is all hearsay.

Anyway, you're fine!
posted by perryfugue at 11:53 AM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's not even refrigerated when they sell it. Yes, you're supposed to refrigerate after opening, but it's already been designed to be OK at room temperature. Just a few hours seems fine to me.
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:06 PM on September 29, 2014

Response by poster: It was delicious!
posted by c'mon sea legs at 2:17 PM on September 29, 2014 [5 favorites]

So, while you're pretty good here, I think it's important to note that you've gotten an overly-sanguine view of salsa as a whole — salsa and guacamole are significant sources of food-borne illness.

Salmonella and listeria outbreaks have been traced to tainted salsa, including a large outbreak from tainted jalapeños.

Usually, the rule of thumb is whether the container is swelling, but leaving it uncapped means that you can't really tell.
posted by klangklangston at 2:48 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

I HATE food poisoning. My rule of thumb is if there is any doubt about the safety of a food that's been in conditions encouraging bacteria growth, then there is no doubt about what to do next: put it in the garbage. Why risk it?
posted by Homer42 at 6:02 PM on September 29, 2014

That link about salsa and guac being a significant source of foodborne illness is mostly (84%) from restaurants which have entirely different volumes, storage challenges, and human interactions with salsa and guac, whether they buy it or make it themselves. Utterly different from jarred salsa. We have canning-science down very well these days; it would take a defect in the factory for a cooked salsa in a jar to sustain bacterial growth.

It's extremely unlikely that OP's jar of salsa being left out overnight is the last act of a perfect storm of food contamination.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:42 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]