why can a cake with whipped cream only sit out a couple hours before being tossed, but cheese can age for weeks?

Question

why can a cake with whipped cream only sit out a couple hours before being tossed, but cheese can age for weeks?

In: 0

Answer 1

I bought a pie at Perkins while I was staying at a hotel. I was too full to eat the rest, even when shared.

I had no way to keep it cold on the drive home, so I left it in the trunk (figured coldest part of car) until I put it in the fridge overnight.

The whipped cream topping slightly hardened, but still smelled and tasted fine, so I ate it.

Didn’t get sick.

But it makes me wonder..is a lot of food safety rules just overly precatious?

I mean consuming raw chicken will usually make you sick. But on food guidelines, there really isn’t a “you might get sick 1 time out of 100, so we have to put a warning anyway”.