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
Some food borne illness results from getting a bacterial infection, so as long as you keep killing those bacteria, you won’t get sick. Some food borne illness results from stuff left behind by bacteria, so even if they’re dead, their accumulated waste products can make you sick. Keeping the food in the fridge really helps tamp down on bacterial growth, which prevents both kinds of illnesses. But that doesn’t last indefinitely.
You and your mother are both right – best practice is tossing the soup after a few days. But, for most healthy people, most of the time, boiling 2 week old refrigerated soup is enough to render it safe.
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