HazelAnne Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Ever since the pandemic began, I’ve been in the habit of leaving new groceries in the garage for a while before bringing them inside to avoid bringing in the virus with them. (Other than things requiring refrigeration). I hadn’t given much thought to temperature changes, until I noticed my coconut oil completely melted.... We bought a bunch of groceries several days ago, and it’s been in the 80’s/90’s outside- though cooler in the garage. Is my food ruined? I had things like shelf stable almond milk, vitamins, oils, jars/cans of food out there. I won’t store food there in the future, but am not sure what to do with this current batch of food. I feel sick at the thought of tossing new groceries, but also do not want the family to eat unsafe food. Anyone have any advice or experience? Do you store food in a garage during the summer? Does google have me overly worried, and the food is really fine? Or could it very well have gone bad in the heat? Sorry for the lengthy post...any input welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 I doubt a few days of warmish temperatures hurt any of it. Those types of items are stored in hot warehouses and shipped in hot trucks. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Your coconut oil is just fine considering that it comes from countries that have temperature around 100 degrees all the time 🙂 all the shelf stable stuff will be fine, actually. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 We've been leaving our shelf-stable groceries in the car, which is even hotter than our garage. I would say that they're probably fine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazelAnne Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, happysmileylady said: I would think the almond milk, vitamins, oils and canned/jarred stuff is fine. Is there anything specific that you are concerned about? Thanks for the reply! The food I'm probably most concerned about is the "better than bouillon" chicken and beef base...since they have meat in them. I'm feeling much better after reading these comments though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazelAnne Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Thank you so much, everyone, for the replies! I feel much better now that I see you all are in agreement! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Only in the 80s and 90s? Shelf-stable foods should be fine. They are trucked and stored in higher temperatures than that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 My HOUSE is above 80 degrees most of the day, even with the AC running, this time of year. It's fine 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Better than is amazing, but so long as you didn't pop the jar it's fine. Honestly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Also, that jarred stuff is canned using high heat. That's how it is preservered, so heat won't hurt it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 4 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said: Agreed. The one exception I would say are types of pharmaceuticals- many of those get sort of grumpy over room temp and degrade and lose potency faster. They also can do so in freezing temps as well. They should really come in the house right away and be kept away from light, humidity and temp swings. I've thought about heat and medications. It seems to me heat would/should affect pharmaceuticals, but they're not likely shipped in a refrigerated truck/airplane, so I expect they've been exposed to heat (possibly for hours in the back of a truck) or sitting in a hot mailbox for a day if they were shipped to a house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazelAnne Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 12 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said: Oh and probiotics- those are not a fan of heat. It will kill them off, but you can typically refrigerate them. Thanks for bringing this up. I often get probiotics off Amazon...I'll switch to the grocery store for these during hotter months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 A few days is nothing. Longer term storage can be an issue when it comes to “best by” dates, but even that is more about best taste and quality than it is about spoilage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I'm quite sure that's fine. We didn't used to have AC, and it would sometimes get into the 90's for days on end ~ our food in the cupboards was always fine. Plus I think about taking things like pills and meds in suitcases on long trips to hot places, and surely those get very hot. Unless it specifically says on the label "refrigeration required," I really wouldn't worry about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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