How are bento boxes safe to eat when they’re kept at room temperature for several hours before eating?
In: 103
tl;dr you can’t legally sell it in a restaurant, but if it looks and smells fine, it probably is
They’re not technically “safe” if they are held between 40F and 120F for more than 4 hours. ( [r/KitchenConfidential](https://www.reddit.com/r/KitchenConfidential) please don’t crucify me if my numbers are wrong, I’ve been out of the game for a long time)
However, that’s not to say they’re entirely unsafe *for everyone*. The health code is there to protect the entire population, including immunosuppressed folks, kids, elders, etc. If you’re the type to enjoy making cute little lunch boxes, you’re also likely to be younger and your immune system not crushed by existential dread and the boot of the Man on your neck.
While it’s true no one *should* be eating time/temp controlled foods out of regs, they’ll probably be just fine.
Traditional bento recipes are designed to last relatively safely. Lots of traditional bentos contain a little bit of alcohol as a means of keeping bacteria at bay, for example. There are other methods as well that help to keep the food slightly preserved.
where are you going where they’re kept at room temperature for hours, and not either in a chilled display or made right after you order them?
the ones you see in the windows aren’t served to customers, they’re decorative
Cuz they aren’t “safe”. A sandwich has just as much chance of getting germs on it and growing them.
Like a lunchbox? Kids at school don’t have fridges either.
Because food safety laws are often about litigation rather than just health and so have to be pretty broad and unforgiving.
Realistically your immune system can put up with a lot more than you really pay attention to, and the amount of bacteria that can grow in like 5hrs is generally low enough provided your prep was pretty clean that your chances of getting sick are just pretty low. The chances of it being worse than a slightly runny shit, also very low.
Doesn’t that apply for all sorts of lunches though? Am i dumb or what? Maybe it’s a western thing that kids don’t take home cooked food to their school. But where I’m from they do. And in a lot of countries. And they mostly don’t spoil. It depends on the food of course. Food that spoils easily when not refrigerated even for a small amount of time will obviously spoil and such foods are not given to kids in lunches.
Here in Japan, I also notice a lot of premade burgers and hotdogs just sitting in some paper on a shelf. Lots been sitting there for the entire 12 hour day before they mark it with a 10% off sticker and try to get rid of it before the end of day. Pretty gross.
Are bento boxes sealed? Maybe that helps if they are
Food safety regulations try to prevent one-in-a-million health risks.
If you’re prepping for yourself and there’s a one-in-a-million chance of getting food poisoning, you could go your entire life and never make yourself ill.
If you’re a restaurant chain and serve a million people a day with the same lax food safety protocols, you’ll kill a customer a day.
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