Is It Safe To Eat Hot Delivery Food That Arrives Cold?

If your order took forever, food safety experts have some key warnings.

My takeout has been arriving at my door in less appetizing states more frequently, with parts of the meal missing (Where’s the rice? Where’s the sauce?), sloppily thrown together, and, even more troublingly, the wrong temperature. Because I’ve already waited upwards of an hour for it to arrive, I give into my hanger and eat the food in whatever state it’s arrived in: hot food turned cold and gelatinous, salads wilted and sweating.

It’s not just that it’s unappetizing that your sushi arrives lukewarm; it can actually be dangerous. According to Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and the author of the book “150 Food Science Questions Answered,” “As food enters the temperature zone at or near room temperature, the microorganisms that have contaminated the food will proliferate rapidly. While the rate at which this occurs depends on the level of saltiness, sugar, moisture and acidity of the food, most foods that have been freshly prepared will have some level of spores or bacteria on their surface. If the number of pathogens in the food reaches a critical number, they can cause foodborne illness in the consumer.”

Before you cancel your delivery apps, let’s get into the specifics of why and how temperature abuse can cause food safety issues and when it may be a problem.

What happens when food sits at the wrong temperature?

We’ve all carted groceries home in a sweltering car or forgotten leftovers on the counter for a few hours without disastrous results, and that’s because most food can sit at room temperature for about two hours before it becomes a health risk, according to the USDA.