Can I eat it: unrefrigerated guac?

July 16, 2024 4:54 PM

I bought some prepared guacamole from Whole Foods this afternoon. When I was unpacking groceries earlier, I overlooked it and forgot to put it in the refrigerator until now (2.5 hours later). Can I eat it?

The pack date was yesterday, July 16; sell-by date is July 20. My house has been warm, so it's sat at around 75F for the past 2.5 hours. When I picked it up it was room-temperature, maybe a bit cool to the touch, but definitely no longer felt refrigerated.

Anyway, is it safe to eat? Would you?

posted by knotty knots to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

I would eat it. It's not going to keep forever, but old guac is fizzy guac in my experience, so you'll know, and even then I don't think it's toxic as much as weird.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 5:00 PM on July 16 [4 favorites]

Eat it, with the caveat that if you had an unusually long trip back from WF, you might think twice. The guac probably didn't warm up immediately, so it likely it only spent 2 hours in the "danger zone" of bacterial growth. This makes it borderline, but the USDA guidelines have a margin of error, and the real window of risk is really closer to four hours. Also, guac is usually made with some sort of acid, which slows bacterial growth.
posted by ayerarcturus at 5:04 PM on July 16

I'd try and eat it today, but yeah, I'd eat it. Guacamole is a potluck and party staple, lots of people have eaten guac that's sat out for a couple hours. But they usually bin it after the party.
posted by potrzebie at 5:04 PM on July 16 [12 favorites]

It might depend somewhat on the ingredients, but typically guac has enough lemon/lime juice in it that you don't have to worry about having it be unrefrigerated for a couple hours. If it had been "sitting out at a party" for that time, it might turn brown on top from oxidization, but it doesn't actually go bad in that time.
posted by Pedantzilla at 5:07 PM on July 16 [2 favorites]

I lean pretty cautious about this stuff but I'd eat this, yes.
posted by Stacey at 5:16 PM on July 16 [1 favorite]

100%
posted by cooker girl at 5:37 PM on July 16 [1 favorite]

It's probably sealed, which helps. I'd recommend having some now, see how you feel, and have more tomorrow. In reality, if it tasted okay, I'd just eat it happily.
posted by theora55 at 5:42 PM on July 16 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for these perspectives. Fwiw, it's not sealed per se, just has a plastic lid that's closed (like a container of pasta salad or something from a deli counter).
posted by knotty knots at 6:13 PM on July 16

It's been sitting out for less than the duration of a Superbowl party. I'm also the "it's fine, but I'd probably eat it today" camp.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:29 PM on July 16 [10 favorites]

I'd eat it without evening thinking about it.
posted by chasles at 5:22 AM on July 17

Another vote for eating it.
posted by bunderful at 3:57 PM on July 17

Response by poster: Update: I ate about half the container last night, then shoved it to the back of the fridge so it can quietly expire and wait for me to discover it in a couple of weeks. At which point I can throw the rest away with zero guilt.

And I feel fine! And it was delicious. Thanks for the sense-check, everyone.
posted by knotty knots at 9:32 PM on July 17 [2 favorites]