My power went off. Is my pork roast safe?

S

shaun-in-to

Well-known member
I put a pork shoulder in the oven to slow cook (6 hours at 275) but when I couldn't smell anything I went to check and discovered the power in the kitchen had gone off at some point. It's a little dry on top and lukewarm to the touch but looks pretty raw. I don't know what time the oven would have stopped. But it should be safe, right? I can chill it till tomorrow and start again? (Please say yes. I don't want to throw $30 in the garbage. I even boned it myself.)

 
When in doubt, throw it out. As stated in my ServSafe book (just came back from testing

this afternoon!)

What Pathogens Need to Grow (FAT TOM)

Food
To grow, pathogens need an energy source, such as carbohydrates or proteins.

Acidity
Pathogens grow best in food that contains little or no acid.

Temperature
Pathogens grow well in food held between the temperatures of 41 degrees F and 135 degrees F (5 degrees C and 57 degrees C). This range is known as the temperature danger zone.

Time
Pathogens need time to grow. When food is in the temperature danger zone, pathogens grow. After four hours, they will grow to a level high enough to make someone sick.

Oxygen
Some pathogens need oxygen to grow. Others grow when oxygen is not there.

Moisture
Pathogens need moisture in food to grow.


Characteristics of Bacteria That Cause Foodborne Illness

Bacteria that cause foodborne illness have some basic characteristics.

Temperature
Most bacteria are controlled by keeping food out of the temperature danger zone.

Growth
If FAT TOM conditions are right, bacteria will grow rapidly, as shown at left.

Form
Some bacteria change into a different form, called spores, to keep from dying when they don't have enough food. They can change back and grow again when the food they are on has been time-temperature abused.

Toxin production
Some bacteria make toxins in food as they grow and die. People who eat the toxins can become sick. Cooking may not destroy these toxins.

Shaun, some undercooked meat-related foodborne illnesses come to mind because of time and temperature abuse:

Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus....

Did I scare you? I hope so! I wouldn't chance it.

 
I'm inclined to agree with Sandy, especially because you say you boned it yourself

If it were an uncut piece of meat it would be less risky, but you could have introduced bacteria when you boned it, then rolled it up to incubate in the lukewarm oven.

Definitely don't keep it until tomorrow! If you really need to salvage it, I say cook it quickly right now, i.e. cut up and sauteed.

 
Whew! Nasty. I think this is the one that killed several people

at a church dinner in Maryland a few years ago. It was a stuffed ham.

 
It was 3-1/2 hours in the oven, but I have no idea what time the oven stopped. When I put my hand in

it was fairly warm but not what I'd call hot. Some fat had begun to render.

The consensus seems to be to toss it. (Oddly, PM's were all in favor of keeping it.) Well, at least I'll be alive a week from now!

 
Great move Shaun!! Our work is done for today... As PatBastrop was talking about,

it could also have been Staphylococcus aureus setting in that killed the church members after they ate the stuffed ham!

This course I took is mind boggling but so informative. I hope to give all of you some very important basic tips every week or so.

Nice to see you alive Shaun! LOL!

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap3.html

 
Not necessarily Steve...

As you'll see in my first post to Shaun:

Toxin production
Some bacteria make toxins in food as they grow and die. People who eat the toxins can become sick. Cooking may not destroy these toxins.

 
Yes, it would kill the bacteria but it would not destroy any toxins they may have left behind.

There's a whole list of those that Sandy could quote too. (I have that same book somewhere.) So while you wouldn't risk a bacterial infection, you still could get really sick.

 
Shaun, it must have hurt to throw it out a $30.00 roast, but I think you did the right thing.

"Warm" is the most dangerous temperature for raw meat.

 
Joe, your deboning concern is right on target with the

link I just posted for the FDA/CFSAN Staphylococcus aureus, 10. Typical Outbreak

The excerpt:

"Contamination of the chicken probably occurred when it was deboned. The chicken was not cooled rapidly enough because it was stored in l2-inch-deep layers."

 
Cooling rapidly--that's the one thing that was impressed on me in the course I took.

Typically, you start with fresh, safe food and cook it to the proper temperature--fine so far.

But then putting it in the fridge while still warm, covered, will create a perfect petri dish of opportunity for any new bacreria to thrive.

A big pot of stew or soup, or as you mentioned, warm chicken stacked 12" thick, can take 24 hours to cool down.

It was a real eye opener.

 
Tell me about it Joe! How about all of those real life scenarios

in the book they gave about people being sickened because of improperly cooled food. Ice baths, ice paddles, and most importantly, placing food in shallow or small containers to aid in cooling the food.

 
Cooling and Reheating Food

When you don't serve cooked food immediately, you must get it out of the temperature danger zone as quickly as possible. That means cooling it quickly. You also need to reheat it correctly whether you are going to hold it or immediately serve it.

COOLING FOOD

As you know, pathogens grow well in the temperature danger zone. But they grow much faster at temperatures between 125°F and 70°F (52°C and 21°C). Food must pass through this temperature range quickly to reduce this growth.

Cool TCS food from 135°F (57°C) to 41°F (5°C) or lower within six hours.

First, cool food from 135°F to 70°F (57°C to 21°C) within two hours.

Then cool it to 41°F (5°C) or lower in the next four hours.

If food has not reached 70°F (21°C) within two hours, it must be thrown out or reheated and then cooled again.

If you can cool the food from 135°F to 70°F (57°C to 21°C) in less than two hours, you can use the remaining time to cool it to 41°F (5°C) or lower. However, the total cooling time cannot be longer than six hours. For example, if you cool food from 135°F to 70°F (57°C to 21°C) in one hour, you have the remaining five hours to get the food to 41°F (5°C) or lower. Check your local regulatory requirements.

 
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