My mom often makes a soup, keeps it in the fridge for over 10 days (it usually is left overnight on a turned off stove or crockpot before the fridge), then boils it and eats it. She insists it’s safe and has zero risk. I find it really gross because even if the bacteria are killed, they had to have made a lot of waste in the 10-15 days the soup sits and grows mold/foul right?!
But she insists its normal and I’m wrong. So can someone explain to me, someone with low biology knowledge, if it’s safe or not…and why she shouldn’t be doing this if she shouldn’t?
Every food safety guide implies you should throw soup out within 3-4 days to prevent getting ill.
Edit: I didn’t mean to be misleading with the words indefinitely either. I guess I should have used periodically boiling. She’ll do it every few days (then leave it out with no heat for at least 12 but sometimes up to 48 before a quick reboil and fridge).
In: Biology
Bacteria produce compounds that they excrete into their environment for many purposes, including to inhibit/kill other organisms. These compounds can make you very sick.
Boiling the soup to kill the bacteria doesn’t remove or destroy these compounds, so it can still make you sick.
However, I forget the name for them, but there are endless stews. Basically, the stew is kept constantly at a temperature high enough bacteria and viruses cannot survive and more ingredients are added as needed so it essentially stays good forever. That was what I thought your title was asking about.
Keeping soup in the fridge for 10-15 days and boiling it again has given microbes time to colonize the soup and it could make you sick. That said, most things are fine to eat longer than people realize. If it smells and tastes okay, it’s likely fine.
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