Source
r/sousvide•
AntiMe

Long session sous-vide cooking risks?

I see a number of recipes, particularly short ribs, that cook up to 72 hours at rather low temperatures (as low as 129F). I know even at this temperature it kills all common food bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and a few others.

Are there any risks such as from botulism or anything else that might grow in a water bath for 72 hours (or is there a time limit at all)? Does vacuum sealing vs the ziploc method make a difference? I can't find any online resources about upper time limits. Thanks in advance.

Posted Oct 14, 2014, 1:10 AM UTC

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Razzafrachen•

Coincidentally, there's a very relevant conversation occurring right now over at r/slowcooking [www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/comments/2j7rx6/accidentally_left_crockpot_on_warm_this/]

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AntiMeOP•

Yeah I'm in that one too, but it's not related to super long cooks. I'm more concerned about molds and anything else I don't know about. 72 hours in warm-hot water seems like it could grow something, although not your common food bacteria.

I've heard rumors of mold growth or slime and such, I figured someone should know this stuff.

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Razzafrachen•

I've heard that long cooks at or over 132F are fine and will kill pretty much everything. Unfortunately, I don't have any sources on that

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AntiMeOP•

It will kill all common food bacteria. It won't kill botulism, you can't do that in a water bath, it requires like 250F to be sure. I'm wondering what happens at 130+ for multiple days, if there's a risk to consider.

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bc2zb•

I'm surprised no one has linked you to Douglas Baldwin yet. The relevant passage is below:

While keeping your food sealed in plastic pouches prevents recontamination after cooking, spores of Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens, and B. cereus can all survive the mild heat treatment of pasteurization. Therefore, after rapid chilling, the food must either be frozen or held at

1.) below 36.5°F (2.5°C) for up to 90 days,

2.) below 38°F (3.3°C) for less than 31 days,

3.) below 41°F (5°C) for less than 10 days, or

4.) below 44.5°F (7°C) for less than 5 days

to prevent spores of non-proteolytic C. botulinum from outgrowing and producing deadly neurotoxin (Gould, 1999; Peck, 1997).

Essentially, you will reduce the population of the nasties enough to most likely not get sick, but if you don't chill your food properly and quickly enough, the spores could start growing and then you'd have a problem.

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