Left bacon in car overnight: How Long Can Bacon Be Out of the Fridge?

How Long Can Bacon Be Out of the Fridge?

Yes, it’s cured, but you still have to observe expiration dates

By Margaret Eby Updated February 13, 2018

EC: A Truck Crash Made This Florida Town Smell Like Bacon

Credit: photo by mphillips007 via getty

Bacon is delicious. It is also perishable. What is sadder than uneaten, uncooked bacon that you have to throw out? Contracting some food-borne illness from bacon and being unable to eat bacon with the same gusto as before. (And before you sit down to house 100 strips of bacon before their expiration date, remember that, yes, there is such a thing as too much bacon.) But there’s a lot of misinformation out there about how long bacon can sit out of the fridge before it goes bad. Because it’s a cured meat product, bacon can have longer shelf life than, say, a pound of ground beef. But it depends on what kind of bacon you have.

Here in the U.S., when most people talk about bacon, we’re referring to the product that you can pick up at most grocery stores near the lunchmeats. This mass-produced bacon is heat processed in a large convection oven, rather than the traditional method of smoking the pork belly, because it cuts down the processing time from many days to just about 6 hours. Before being popped in the oven, this bacon is cured with salt and nitrates. After both these steps, the bacon is sliced for packaging and quickly chilled to below 40 degrees Fahrenheit in order to stymy bacterial growth.

This kind of bacon usually has an expiration date stamped on the package, which you should definitely check before you buy or consume it. Once the package is opened, the FDA recommends that you use or freeze the bacon (yep, you can freeze bacon) within seven days to ensure freshness. If unopened, the Food Marketing Institute recommends using the bacon within a month. Even if you freeze the bacon, its high fat content makes it susceptible to developing rancid flavors (ew) and the quality and flavor of the meat will deteriorate the longer you store it. How to tell if bacon has gone bad? Pay attention to the way the bacon looks. If it has changed color to green-ish, or grey-ish, or has mold spots, that bacon has gone bad, my friend. Another good marker is the way the bacon smells. If it smells off or rotten, toss it. As painful as it is to throw bacon away, it’s definitely better than getting sick.

The general, culinary school rule of food safety for raw meat is that you don’t let things sit out more than four hours. For raw mass-produced bacon, that’s probably a good rule of thumb. It’s wise to be extra careful with raw pork products because of a not-so-fun illness called trichinosis, a particular risk with undercooked pork and wild game, which causes vomiting, fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain. For cooked bacon, you have quite a bit more lee-way. After cooking, refrigerate and use within four to five days.

But not all bacon is the mass-produced kind you find next to Lunchables. If you get your hands on dry-cured bacon, that lasts much longer, even outside of the fridge. Unlike mass-produced bacon, dry-cured bacon is made by curing the pork for days, and is thus much more resistant to bacteria. The USDA recommends using dry-cured sliced bacon within ten days when unrefrigerated, and within four weeks if you keep it in the refrigerated. If the dry-cured bacon comes in a slab—the kind you slice yourself—it can last up to three weeks without the fridge, and four to six weeks in the fridge.

If you have worries about a bacon-adjacent product, like bacon bits, canned bacon, baby food with fresh bacon, or turkey bacon, have no fear—the USDA has a handy chart of bacon storage recommendations for all those products. Yes, it’s lame that bacon goes bad. But the good news is that it gives you incentive to eat bacon when you have it.

refrigerator — How do I know if food left at room temperature is still safe to eat?

When in Doubt, Throw it Out!

You cannot always see or smell bacterial contamination. Mold that appears to be growing only on the surface may grow invisible roots into softer foods. Do not rely on a visual inspection or «smell test» to tell you whether or not a food is safe. It’s not worth the risk — food poisoning can be much, much worse than an upset stomach.

The Danger Zone

Per the USDA guidelines, potentially hazardous food that stays in the temperature «danger zone», 40-140 °F (4-60 °C), for more than 2 hours should be discarded. For temperatures above 90°F (32°C), the limit is 1 hour.^*
Potentially hazardous foods are those foods that spoil most easily, such as unshelled eggs, raw meats, fish, shell fish, dairy products, almost all cooked foods.
This time is cumulative, so it includes time bringing the food home from the grocery store, time before cooking, time after cooking, and so on. The reason is that while cooking may destroy bacteria or other pathogens, it doesn’t always destroy the toxins that they have produced.
In general, regarding perishable foods like meat, most dairy, unshelled eggs and shell eggs (in the US), cooked casseroles, and so on: if the food (or its perishable components) have been at room temperature for more than two hours, you should discard that food.
To avoid the danger zone, keep cooked food hot until ready to eat, then refrigerate immediately. Separate large items into smaller containers to help them to cool more quickly. If you’re defrosting something, do it in the fridge or under cold running water.
If you can be certain that the food was not in the danger zone, then yes, it is safe. For example, if you left a large chunk of frozen meat out and it is still frozen solid (including the surface) when you come back to it, it was not in the danger zone.

Why is it so strict? / Why didn’t I get sick?

These guidelines are about making sure you don’t get a foodborne illness, i.e. reducing the risk to where it’s so small as to not be an issue. So if you break the rules, e.g. eating food that’s been left at room temperature for 8 hours, that doesn’t mean you will get sick, just that you’re taking a risk.

Why does cooking not completely «reset the clock»?

Some bacteria leave behind harmful protein toxins that cannot be «killed» (denatured) by cooking. Cooking food is only effective against live organisms, not their toxic waste products. Spoiled food cannot be cooked back to safety and must be discarded.
Cooking is pasteurization, not sterilization. Pasteurization means killing most microbes, so as to render the food safe for human consumption. Sterilization methods (e.g. pressure-canning and irradiation) are the only safe methods for longer-term room-temperature storage. Otherwise, the danger zone rules always apply.
Even sterilized food can only remain sterile under an airtight seal, e.g. when properly canned or vacuum-sealed. Once it is opened, it is no longer sterile. Air contains countless bacteria and molds, and their spores, which will readily re-colonize any suitable environment they encounter. Cooked food tends to be an ideal medium for growth.

What can I leave out longer?

For foods that aren’t potentially hazardous as described above, there’s no solid rule, but things are generally safe for much longer than the 2 hours given above. For example, things which are sold at room temperature (e.g. fresh produce, bread, or cookies) are most likely safe at least all day or overnight if not for days or even months. You can find guidelines for common things at StillTasty.

Regulation and Risks

Follow the guidelines set out by reputable regulatory agencies, especially when serving others. Local organizations include:

FDA Food Code (USDA)
CFIA (Canada)
Food Standards Agency (UK)

Other regulatory sources apply in other parts of the word, but major food safety organizations usually agree in essence (if not in complete detail) on most issues.

Failure to follow reputable guidelines is irresponsible if you are serving guests, and failure to follow your specific local codes is likely to be illegal if you are serving customers.

Health codes tend to be very conservative, to fully protect the community. You have the right to take risks on yourself by ignoring their recommendations, but please do not risk the safety of others.

Again, When in Doubt…

Once again, if you suspect spoilage or contamination, please, throw it out.

_{* Note: this is the USDA’s rule. Other agencies may have variations on it. Additionally, government agencies generally make very conservative recommendations — they’re trying to make sure that no one who follows the rules gets sick. Breaking the rules means maybe taking on some risk. That’s up to you — just remember, eventually someone gets unlucky, and food poisoning is not fun.}

Helpful Resources

Wikipedia: Food Safety
USDA Fact Sheet
Still Tasty — has information on storage methods/times for almost every food.

Real homemade bacon, which is not ashamed to put on the festive table

Ingredients

1.1 kg pork belly
22 g salt
11 g nitrite salt
11 g sugar
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dry adjika
0.5 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp dry ground thyme
3T garlic
3 bay leaves

Cooking

The beauty of our bacon is that you don’t have to choose the prettiest piece of pork on display for it. On the contrary, take a piece with the most budgetary position. Not only fat, of course. The meat layer is needed, at least a small one. Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Now it is ready for further work.
© pixabay
Prepare the mixture. To do this, take a deep container and mix adjika, sugar, pepper, two types of salt, nutmeg, thyme, bay leaf and garlic, which has just been passed through the press. You can mix the whole thing a little with a spoon and let it stand for about 5 minutes until the aromas are fully revealed and blend into one symphony.
© pixabay
Now grease the meat with our mixture. Confident but careful. Coat the pork with spices with your hands and wrap it in a clean bag. If this is not the case, a baking sleeve or at least cling film will do. We put the future bacon in the refrigerator for exactly 4 days. Every night before going to bed, they need to admire and shift to the other side. This will help the marinade absorb better.
© pixabay
By the required time, we take out the meat and wipe it from the remnants of spices with paper towels. It’s time to cook. We put the pork in the oven, preheated to 100 degrees. We continue to cook bacon for 3 hours. We take it out, cut it and enjoy the result. It’s just a meal.
© pixabay

Now about the nitrite salt. For some reason, she is feared. But in fact, these feelings are unfounded. It is needed to retain moisture in the meat and thereby give it a beautiful red color. Without «nitrite» it will be gray and dull on the cut. You can buy it in specialized stores for lovers of homemade sausages or on the Internet.

By the way, our advice: in many cities there are butcher shops located right next to the house. You can also buy pork there. So, sellers very rarely refuse to cut their own goods into thin slices using technology. So you can ask them to cut your finished bacon too. We’re sure they won’t mind. Good luck and enjoy your meal!

Review score

Based on 51 hotel reviews

7.9

Components of an assessment

Review date: January 5, 2023

Migulya

Netherlands

4 reviews

everything is super!!!

Time of stay: January 2023
Revocation date: January 3, 2023

Ilia

Netherlands

63 reviews

18 “useful review” marks

There was not even a kettle in the room, the TV was old and did not support smart TV functions. Beds are soft and uncomfortable. Breakfast is not very nutritious, no porridge. Unfortunately, our room was on the second floor and the fireworks were not visible.

Responsive staff. Location in the city center, next to the Grote Kerk.

Time of stay: January 2023
Review date: October 22, 2022

Veronica

Ukraine

2 reviews

Didn’t like the breakfast, the sausages were hard, the bacon was overcooked, the fruit was not fresh.

beds and pillows are very comfortable, you can change the temperature in the room. Very nice view from the window

Length of stay: October 2022
Review date: 19 July 2022

Maksim

Ukraine

10 reviews

An empty can of soap near the sink and a dead wasp on the windowsill

Clean, cozy, tasty.

Length of stay: July 2022
Review date: 11 July 2022

Anastasia

Ukraine

15 reviews

there was a stain on the table, the price was too high, there was no refrigerator in the room (

there was a beautiful view of the city from the window, the location is not bad and friendly staff

Length of stay: July 2022
Review date: 11 January 2022

Vadym

Ukraine

11 reviews

3 marks «useful review»

For two nights spent in this place, I did not find anything worth mentioning.

The location is great. The room overlooking the business part of the city left a good impression.

Time of stay: December 2021
Ukraine

6 reviews

There was no refrigerator in the room and no glasses.

Good location, friendly staff.

Length of stay: September 2021
Review date: October 30, 2020

Sofia

Latvia

33 reviews

5 marks «useful review»

I liked everything

Very nice room, with a very comfortable bed and a «comic» shower!! Great view of the city. Warm, clean. Great location, about 10 minutes from Central Station.

Time of stay: October 2020
Review date: February 20, 2020

Julia

Russia

6 reviews

5 marks «useful review»

lovely breakfast but pricey.

Expected level of comfort. Thought out sockets, a shelf in the shower, etc. The hotel supports ecology and conscious consumption. Therefore, if cleaning every day is not important for you, you can hang a special sign on the door and get a voucher for 5 euros, which you can spend with pleasure at the bar

Time of stay: January 2020
Review date: 30 May 2022

Daria

Ukraine

6 reviews

2 marks «useful review»

Good hotel, excellent staff and excellent location. The rooms are already in need of repair, there was a lot of dust in the room upon arrival and rubbish was lying under the bed, this indicates that the rooms are cleaned superficially

Time of stay: May 2022
Review date: 23 May 2022

Lilia

Germany

16 reviews

2 marks «useful review»

I had hair on my towel and it wasn’t quite clean

Time of stay: May 2022
Netherlands

2 reviews

1 mark «useful review»

Bed

Location

Time of stay: May 2022
Review date: 26 September 2020

Vladimir

Bulgaria

34 reviews

16 «useful review» marks

No cons found

Very fast check-in and check-out. They let me leave my luggage for a few hours in their luggage room for free after checkout. The room is excellent. The bathroom is literally a spaceship. King size bed. TV shows a very large number of channels, including Russian.

Time of stay: September 2020
Review date: March 8, 2020

Olga

Russia

11 reviews

1 mark «useful review»

Not enough towels. No kettle in the room

Liked The location of the hotel.

Time of stay: March 2020
Review date: 13 June 2022

Anonymous

Israel

4 reviews

all

Length of stay: June 2022
Review date: 18 June 2020

Anonymous

Germany

19 reviews

47 «useful review» marks

For two people, only two medium-sized towels of not the best quality and one foot towel are required. There is no separate towel for hands or face! The bath has a three-in-one dispenser — soap, shampoo and shower gel — all in one bottle (
The Ibis hotel has always been famous for its chic breakfasts and excellent buffet. Perhaps this was a plus when choosing a hotel. Breakfast costs 9.50€. For two nights and two people, I paid 38 euros. But at the same time, when booking, it was not indicated that breakfast is provided in a package in the form of dry rations. But I think, because of the coronavirus, this is the situation in all hotels. In the package for one person were: a croissant, a bun, butter, jam, a piece of cheese, yogurt, an apple, orange juice, coffee / tea was poured into paper cups. I think for such breakfasts 38 € — this is very expensive ((Or people need to be warned in advance that there will be no hot breakfast. There was a supermarket nearby — I could buy an apple with yogurt myself.
Parking. The hotel does not have its own parking. There is a city parking in the same building at a price of 64€ for two days. Or they will offer parking on the territory of the hospital — 27 € for two days. I had to take parking on the territory of the hospital, but for me it was not comfortable. It takes 5 minutes to get there by car and 5 minutes to walk back. Everything would be fine, but unload / load suitcases near the hotel, then go to park, then return on foot, and all this, when you and your child are back and forth, especially when it rained, I didn’t like it.
Beach. To the sea, to the place where the Ferris wheel is located, drive 25 minutes + 5 minutes to go to the parking lot.
Covered parking on the beach 25€ for the whole day. Ferris wheel (duration of riding 12-15 minutes) — 9euro adult, 7 euro children.
Please note that public showers at the beach are closed due to the coronavirus. That is, you will not be able to wash at the end of the day anywhere.
I think that the price / quality ratio is not justified. 270 euros for two nights in a 3* hotel is too much. I will not return to ibis

Pros:
Comfortable mattress, clean enough.
If you hang a sign on the back of the door in the morning that housekeeping is not needed, then the cleaning lady will give you a voucher for € 5, against which you can buy a drink at the bar.
The hotel is located in the center, all the main streets within walking distance.
This is where the pluses end. Minuses:
When I made a reservation, the site said «Now you do not pay anything, payment on the spot.» But the next day, 120 € was blocked on my card. When checking into the hotel, they asked to pay in full 240 euros, not taking into account the previously blocked amount, saying that the money would be returned the next day. In fact, they returned only a week later! As a result, on vacation, I was left without money on the card. In all my travel experience, this is the first time I have had such a story. If it’s «pay on the spot», in other hotels I always paid on the spot. I really didn’t like it!!
Payment at check-in is accepted only by card, cash is not accepted. And I had cash with me. Cash payment was accepted only because I said: either I pay in cash, or I go to another hotel altogether, because I don’t have non-cash money. But because of the coronavirus, as I understand it, such rules are now everywhere: in hotels, in parking lots, sometimes even for ice cream on the beach they ask you to pay only with a card. Although some places accept cash.
The hotel room is an ordinary Ibis, nothing fancy. There is a safe and hairdryer. There is no refrigerator. Normal wifi. I asked for a room on the top floor with a beautiful view from the window, they gave it on the 2nd, with windows on the roadway, the view was so-so. Even though it was June, it was very cold in the room. The temperature in the room from the display was not regulated. I had to contact the staff, but I was told that nothing could be done, since this is a central system and the temperature is the same for everyone. I had to turn off the ventilation at all in order to somehow warm up.

Length of stay: June 2020
Review date: December 27, 2022

Danara

Kazakhstan

2 reviews

This review has no comments

Length of stay: October 2022
Review date: November 1, 2022

Iryna

Ukraine

12 reviews

This review has no comments

Time of stay: November 2022
Moldova

35 reviews

6 marks «useful review»

This review has no comments

Length of stay: October 2022
Review date: 3 September 2022

Dmitriy

Ukraine

8 reviews

This review has no comments

Length of stay: July 2022
Review date: 15 August 2022

Kyrylo

Belgium

9 reviews

1 mark «useful review»

This review has no comments

Length of stay: July 2022
Review date: 13 August 2022

Siarhei

Estonia

37 reviews

This review has no comments

Length of stay: August 2022