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Left a lb of ground chuck, still sealed, out on the counter after coming home from buying groceries. It just slipped by me, everything else went into the freezer. It's been about 3 hrs and some change. Still good or should I suck it up and buy another lb? The store is kinda far and huge and a pain in the buns.

I understand that the toxins released by bacteria will still be present after being cooked, but it's still sealed so am I good?

Thanks!

It's one of those round cylindrical packages that are twisted off at the ends. It was not frozen when I bought it, just chilled.

Amanda
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  • It's not vacuum-sealed or anything, is it? Just wrapped up in a package? And was it frozen when you bought it? – Cascabel Oct 28 '14 at 23:03
  • Yup, in that case, this is a duplicate of the previous one - it's potentially dangerous since it was well over two hours, and ground meat is one of the more perishable things. – Cascabel Oct 29 '14 at 01:54
  • I don't consider this a duplicate because of the specifics of the questions and answers, such as it being sealed but not Vacuum sealed, and not frozen when purchased. Previous question doesn't address whether the meat was exposed to air. – Amanda Oct 29 '14 at 20:39
  • The previous question is about the general case, and your case fits within that. Your meat is in the danger zone (it wasn't frozen in the store, and it had a long car ride home and then 3+ hours), and it's not specially preserved in any way (the package is not airtight). – Cascabel Oct 29 '14 at 22:51
  • That said, if you want to ask about any of the details there, please feel free to edit your question and perhaps we can reopen it! We're not trying to stop questions from being asked, we just don't want another copy of "is meat left on the counter safe". – Cascabel Oct 29 '14 at 22:52

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