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Eggs+oil+vinegar+preservatives =? aka the great mayo debate

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Arbie
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14 Feb 2008, 5:14 pm

The last time I went grocery shopping I bought mayonnaise along with other things. I dropped the plastic mayonnaise jar and it bumped the lid a little bit but overall it seemed ok. I opened the mayonnaise yesterday only to discover that the seal had been popped open during the fall and that my mayonnaise had been sitting unrefrigerated in the cabinet for more than 48 hours. It smelled fine and this particular brand of mayo didn't say anything about refrigerating after opening.

Research on the internet varied from, people saying commercial mayonnaise is safe to eat without refrigeration after opening, to people saying never, ever, ever-ever-ever eat mayo that has gone unrefrigerated after opening even after a few hours or you will get very sick. Both sides always gave first hand accounts supporting their claims.

I asked my parents, my mother said that growing up her family never refrigerated their mayo and that it should be ok (A claim I also found on the internet multiple times). My father on the other hand said DO NOT EAT IT. It smelled fine, it looked fine, and it tasted fine, yes I ate it anyway.

I haven't felt any signs of illness and it has been nearly 24 hours, I did put it in the refrigerator since one of the claims was that refrigerating mayo is only to preserve quality, not for safety.

What are peoples thoughts on this? Does anyone have any experience or thoughts to add to this? The people on the side of not refrigerating mayo claim the sickness comes from cross contamination, not the mayo itself. Also, this is commercial mayo only, the kind that is in a plastic or glass jar that is sold unrefrigerated in the store. All sides agreed that fresh made mayo needs to be treated as though it were nuclear waste if it goes unrefrigerated for a relatively short time.

I am about 75% sure it is safe based on the info I found, anyone care to help erase the final 25% uncertainty, or maybe add to it?



Fogman
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14 Feb 2008, 5:55 pm

Arbie wrote:
I haven't felt any signs of illness and it has been nearly 24 hours, I did put it in the refrigerator since one of the claims was that refrigerating mayo is only to preserve quality, not for safety.

What are peoples thoughts on this? Does anyone have any experience or thoughts to add to this? The people on the side of not refrigerating mayo claim the sickness comes from cross contamination, not the mayo itself. Also, this is commercial mayo only, the kind that is in a plastic or glass jar that is sold unrefrigerated in the store. All sides agreed that fresh made mayo needs to be treated as though it were nuclear waste if it goes unrefrigerated for a relatively short time.

I am about 75% sure it is safe based on the info I found, anyone care to help erase the final 25% uncertainty, or maybe add to it?


I would still refrigerate it irregardless of what other people say. If 24 hours has passed since you ingested the mayo, you should be safe, however that doesn't mean that some other microbe could contaminate it through handling. Refrigeration will greatly reduce the chances of your mayonnaise becoming a viable host medium for some other malign microbe.

The food poisoning that you get from mayonnaise is Salmonella. S. Enterica is usually found around eggs, poultry, and reptiles, and can and will contaminate any surfaces that it comes in contact with. --Salmonella poisoning usually manifests itself in 3-6 hours after ingestion.


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Arbie
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14 Feb 2008, 6:07 pm

Sounds like good practical advise.



Fogman
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14 Feb 2008, 6:19 pm

Arbie wrote:
Sounds like good practical advise.


It generally is. In 1986, I used to work in a restaurant that had salmonella outbreak issues in the past. They were quite vigilant about it not happening again.

The reason for the outbreak ( as well as other previous outbreaks in the small chain) was traced back to cooks using cutting boards that had been used for cutting chicken and turkey without properly sanitising them.

The outbreaks happened on Thanksgiving 1982, as well as in 1984, and 1985. This invariably earned the owner of the chain the unenviable nickname of 'The Salmonella King' amongst restaurant cooks in Southern Maine.


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kclark
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15 Feb 2008, 10:24 am

The only reason I refrigerate the mayo is when it gets warm it can turn that translucent color that I find pretty disturbing. Keeping it cool guarantees it keeps its white color.