Is it normal to eat food that's a few hours old?

We have provided lunch at work and a few of the guys there seem to be ok with eating theirs late, even if it's been sitting out for ten hours. Please tell me this isn't normal.

Voting Results
68% Normal
Based on 44 votes (30 yes)
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Comments ( 11 )
  • dappled

    I once ate something that was over a hundred years old. Although it wasn't technically dead so it hadn't gone off. Gold star for anyone who works out what it was.

    As for the lunches, it depends what it is. The sandwiches at work can be anything up to four days old (although they are packaged). As for salad, I don't mind it being a day old, as long as it's been kept cold.

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    • NoraBaker

      I'd say you ate some sort of fungi or sourdough bread made with a very old starter. Now I'm curious to know what it was.

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      • dappled

        I would give you a brownie point, Miss Nora, but... *sad look* it'll have to be a gold star instead. :/

        You are correct, though. It was a bakery that had kept the same batch of yeast alive since 1906. I felt like I was eating a family tree.

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        • NoraBaker

          Can I have my star, please? *extending hand, palm up*

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  • I ate a three and a half day old chocolate pie that was sitting in my room...I was struck with the most intense chocolate craving and it dominated my food morals.

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  • mrsxsalvatore

    You can eat any food that isn't gone off. The other day, I ate rice pudding from a can which was two years late. I hadn't realised until afterwards, but it was fine.

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  • howaminotmyself

    What kind of food? I wouldn't eat ice cream or raw fish that's been out all day but most sandwiches, fruit, or pastries are fine. Although I have seen mold grow on fresh bread overnight.

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    • Usually pastas, salads, or sandwiches. And no, nothing is being kept cold. It's all sitting out on the table uncovered from when it arrives to sometime the next morning.

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  • Captain_Kegstand

    My work provides lunch at 11 am every Saturday, at the end of the day, i'll take home the leftovers and have them for a drunk snack. I would say its completely normal, unless I am abnormal?!

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  • Cuntsiclestick

    It's normal. Where I work we bake cookies, brownies, and other goodies. They're left in the display for hours(longest being two days) and people still buy them because they're still good. After two days, we're required to throw them out, but I will occasionally eat some because it still tastes great.

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  • NotFloydzie

    Well, hours old isn't that bad. Talk about 6 or 7 months old, then we have a problem.

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