Should I Eat It?

April 21, 2016 8:20 AM

A sandwich with white bread, sharp cheddar cheese and dry-smoked hard salami is left at room temperature in a ziplock bag for about 8 hours. Is it still safe to eat? Can it be put in the fridge after the 8 hours and be good the next day? I'm not concerned about taste, just safety.
posted by griphus to Food & Drink (27 answers total)

Both should be safe to eat after the 8 hours and after being in the fridge overnight.
posted by goggie at 8:22 AM on April 21, 2016 [8 favorites]

Assuming no condiments, I would definitely eat it.
posted by Gneisskate at 8:23 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

The only problem I'd have with it is dry bread. Hard salami was basically invented because there wasn't a refrigerator invented yet.
posted by General Malaise at 8:24 AM on April 21, 2016 [15 favorites]

Not only would I eat that, I have eaten that! Go forth and eat it.
posted by rtha at 8:25 AM on April 21, 2016 [3 favorites]

Hard cheese and salami are foods that I take camping - I would and I have eaten that combo after upwards of a week in a summer-temperature backpack.
posted by Metasyntactic at 8:26 AM on April 21, 2016 [22 favorites]

You're describing what many people do for a packed lunch.

When we go on long walks we'll put sandwiches like this in the backpack - which can actually get quite warm - and then eat them for lunch anywhere from 4-8 hours later.
posted by vacapinta at 8:28 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Replace the white bread with tortillas or pita and this is the sort of thing I would keep in my backpack on a hot summer day of hiking. I would eat this sandwich even if it were three days old.
posted by bondcliff at 8:32 AM on April 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Agrred. Hard cheese and dry salami are foods invented to keep milk and meat from spoiling for long periods of time before refrigeration. I also take these backpacking and eat them for a week in the summer. You will be totally fine.
posted by ssg at 8:33 AM on April 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Hard cheese and dry salami are foods invented to keep milk and meat from spoiling for long periods of time before refrigeration.

This is what I was going to say. Eat it!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:37 AM on April 21, 2016

Would eat, have eaten. Except for currently being vegetarian with vegan leanings, would eat right now this minute if I only had one.

Actually I have pretty much specifically done this when packing up extra lunches from an event - I have packed them up, refrigerated and eaten the next day.
posted by Frowner at 8:37 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I eat that sort of thing all the time. Heck, I never refrigerate my lunch no matter kind of sandwich I have. 44 years and it has never bothered me yet.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2016

Just...is there mayo on it?
posted by amtho at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2016

You're probably okay, as long as those are literally the only ingredients in the sandwich. Any condiments or vegetables and nope.

Re-refrigerating won't make it safer; the clock on that doesn't turn back.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:01 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

It will be fine.

Fun fact: mayo usually isn't the culprit when you get food poisoning from something that was unrefrigerated for too long. It's the food that the mayo is mixed into - meat, pasta, veggies. Those foods aren't generally pasteurized and are susceptible to bacteria growth.
posted by jenny76 at 9:41 AM on April 21, 2016 [3 favorites]

(Also, I have eaten sandwiches under such conditions with condiments and vegetables. Your risk is your own to take. I do not have a delicate stomach and would not hesitate to eat something with mayo or lettuce that had been out eight hours as long as it was not weirdly slimy or off-tasting. NOTE: I know that things can be bad without being slimy,etc.)
posted by Frowner at 9:41 AM on April 21, 2016

I'd eat that. Cheese and salami need to be at room temperature anyway!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:34 AM on April 21, 2016

Eat it. Nothing in that sandwich is anything close to being inedible after eight hours.
posted by SansPoint at 11:08 AM on April 21, 2016

you have until sundown tomorrow
posted by poffin boffin at 11:19 AM on April 21, 2016 [8 favorites]

I would look askance at it if it contains mayonnaise, not because mayonnaise is especially prone to spoilage (as jenny76 explains, it's not) but because that would be an incorrect sandwich.
posted by contraption at 11:29 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'd eat it.
posted by onecircleaday at 11:59 AM on April 21, 2016

Is eat it too.

Grocery store Mayo isn't even refrigerated until you open it, and it lasts forever-it's pasteurised. It's fine. Homemade Mayo or aioli with actual raw egg I'd pass on.
posted by jrobin276 at 2:58 PM on April 21, 2016

Count my vote toward the 7-day end of the spectrum.

After about day 3, I'd lose the bread and just eat the cheese and salami.

The next time, I'd use solid rye bread such as Mestemacher, which would make it to day 5 or so.

In any case, butter or nothing. Mayo is for salads, and single-item solo meals.
posted by wonton endangerment at 5:14 PM on April 21, 2016

With no condiments, I would eat that, though I'd sniff it first and toss it if something smelled off. With condiments or other ingredients, I'd probably toss it.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:10 PM on April 21, 2016

yes absolutely for goodness sake
posted by Sebmojo at 2:42 AM on April 22, 2016

Salami, cheese, and bread are all things that are fine at room temp for fairly long times, so I would not be worried about their combination.
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:02 AM on April 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

So did you eat it? I mean, it's lunch time in New York.
posted by Frowner at 9:37 AM on April 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Oh this was specifically for when I don't eat my lunch and still have it in my bag at 6 PM and take it home. My wife said that it wasn't Safe anymore when I brought it home and I had my doubts so I posted this question.
posted by griphus at 9:48 AM on April 22, 2016