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Recooking cross contaminated food

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  someday 
#1 ·
Hi, I’m new here and hoping to get some information to settle a debate between two parties. I’ve done a lot of googling, but can’t seem to find the answer, so I’m hoping someone here can help.

Here’s the scenario:
1 batch of chicken shreds (approximately 3cm x 1cm in size), separated into 2 portions. Portion A was cooked properly, but not completely consumed. The leftovers were placed into the fridge in the same container as portion B (which is still raw).
Question: If one were to fully cook both portions A & B, so that it exceeds 165F, would both portions be safe to eat? If not, why not?

Thanks in advance to all who answer!
 
#4 ·
Except you don't know that no toxins are involved.

As things go bad, it's not just bacterial growth that is a risk but also their byproducts. And cooked meat is a better medium for growth than raw meat. So while refrigeration slows any growth it doesn't stop growth.

For just overnight you can probably be ahead of those odds. But as a general practice it's very dangerous. But let's say you do it every night for a week or two weeks, reusing the same container. Now you're running up against all that growth and by products contaminating your cooked meat. Temperature alone is no longer a reliable safety measure.
It's a bad practice for a reason.

But cross contamination is usually more about raw meat residue getting on something that won't get cooked. From your hand on a fruit or vegetable, or from your knife or your cutting board.
 
#5 ·
My Cow just dropped a fresh steamy cow pie. Can I mix this with a cold cow pie and then cook them up to 165 degree. The question s/b do I want to. The point is, standards are set to protect people from cross contamination. It's much easier to set these standards for the masses by having them easy to understand. Most standards are set as to not have all scenarios taken into account. Whats needed are just basic yes and no answers and never have a maybe, or sometimes it's ok. The answer to this question could be yes but, are you willing to serve this chicken to your 96 year old Grandmother or your 6 month old daughter......Chefbillyb
 
#6 ·
Answers can be given off of the basic information you provided but if you are really concerned about the danger of this practice you would also need to provide information such as if the cooked chicken was cooled properly after cooking, if the raw chicken was in stored properly and if so was the chicken that was cooked prepped from the raw chicken from the container or was the raw chicken added to a new clean container.

The bigger issue I have with this question I guess is why you would ever want to cook raw chicken with cooked chicken. Utilize the cooked chicken for something and cook the raw by itself.

But I guess to answer your question, while it's technically possible I would not recommend it.
 
#7 ·
I don't understand why you would ever put cooked leftovers in the same container as raw food for any reason. It really isn't about cross contamination for me as much as "common sense". One is cooked, one is not, whatever the food might be.
It would seem obvious that the cooked will be overcooked if you attempt to cook the raw at the same time. You don't even have to know how to cook to know that, do you?
 
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