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Eggplant and mushroom ”meatballs” left at room temperature
Vera Marie Badertscher asked 2 days ago
I made vegetarian “meatballs” with a cooked eggplant and cooked mushrooms and nuts and Panko crumbs plus one egg. They were then baked at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. I bagged them to put in the freezer, but a day and a half later discovered I had left them out on the kitchen counter. Are they still safe to eat? (If frozen, then reheated.)
Mark Staff answered 2 days ago
Thank you, Vera, for your question.
When foods are left at room temperature, bacteria can grow relatively fast. If one or more of the bacteria happen to be pathogenic bacteria, they can potentially grow to hazardous levels after 4 hours at room temperature. This is the basis of the 4-hour rule for food left between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
In your case, after cooking the “meatballs”, there could be some bacteria that were not killed by cooking at 350F. This is especially true for what we call “spore-forming” bacteria. The spore is a hard coat-like substance that surrounds the bacteria and protects it from heat. Also, bacteria can survive for very long periods of time in a frozen state.
When the meatballs were accidentally left out, spore-forming bacteria can emerge from the spore and begin to grow. In general, spore-forming bacteria are harmless to us. However, there are at least 2 species of spore-forming bacteria that can cause human illness–Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. What makes them especially dangerous is that they produce heat-stable toxins that survive reheating. If ingested, these toxins can cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
For safety sake, I recommend discarding the meatballs.
best regards
Mark
