Can I Eat the Pizza I Left on My Counter All Night?

by
Too drink or lazy to throw it in the electric refrigerator ? angstrom retentive as you ’ re within this window of time, you should be all right It ’ mho been a charming day. You picked up a pizza, smoked some pot and ate yourself into an afternoon coma. fair now, you woke up ready for another feed. But as you stand over your leftover slices, you wonder whether they ’ re still good. It ’ mho been a few hours since you passed out, leaving them to deteriorate on the counter. How farseeing can pizza sit out, anyhow ?
While there are enough of people, including myself, who ’ d gladly gobble a piece that ’ second seen a few sunsets, food safety professionals put a much stricter timeline on pizza ’ second life. According to World Pizza Cup champion Tony Gemignani, the health department says food that ’ s been out at room temperature for more than four hours should be thrown out, since it could be contaminated by bacteria, which can give you a gnarled case of food poison. That ’ randomness because germs on food double in number every 20 minutes between temperatures of 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

meanwhile, pizza that ’ s been out for between two and four hours is even safe to eat, but shouldn ’ t be stored in the refrigerator, because by that time, it ’ s probable already amassed a few germs that will continue to grow and spread. In fact, only pizza that ’ s been exposed to room temperature for under two hours deserves a spot in your electric refrigerator ( where it will stay effective, or at least safe to eat, for up to four days ) .
not to mention, pizza begins to go through some arguably unpleasant structural changes reasonably quickly. “ The cheese tends to firm up at about the same pace that the crust seems to lose its brittleness, ” says Brad Kent, co-founder and foreman culinary officer of Blaze Pizza .
however, Gemignani acknowledges that eating pizza past its flower is “ pretty common, ” and other food guard experts have previously said that swallowing an erstwhile piece international relations and security network ’ t the hazardous of pursuits. That ’ second because the ingredients in pizza — boodle, baked cheese, roast vegetables — are by and large low in water, which makes a barren environment for bacterial growth. Tomato sauce, interim, is typically acidic enough to keep germs at bay ( for a while, anyhow ). And pepperoni is cured, meaning it was made to final .
That ’ second why while Gemignani says pizza is best straight out of the oven, he besides supports its function as an amazing leftover. “ The cheese about consumes the ingredients and keeps them fresh and damp, ” he explains. That ’ s why cold pizza can be a dainty in its own properly.

If you want to keep your just-delivered pizza fresh for longer, however, here ’ s a tap that doesn ’ metric ton involve chucking it into the electric refrigerator : “ Open all the vents in a pizza box so pizza don ’ t steamer, ” says Kent. This helps stop the crust from losing its brittleness .
For more perspective on the relative base hit of your hours-old slice, a 2015 report on foodborne illnesses linked to pizza cited a few hundred cases of food poisoning over more than a decade of worldwide pulmonary tuberculosis. meanwhile, in the U.S. alone, we slam more than three billion pies per year, many of which were probably situated on a counter for some clock .
In other words, there ’ s no guarantee that your old pizza is dependable to eat, but the odds are in your favor. Though, you were gon sodium eat it either way, weren ’ t you ?

Ian Lecklitner

Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He by and large writes about everyone ‘s favored things : sex, drugs and food .