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Made a crab salad on sunday, it was out for a couple of hours while people were at my house. Ate some on Mon and Tues not yesterday but do you think it is still OK? It was made with mayonaise of course and the imitation crab meat that had previously been frozen up until Sunday.
The mayo, if not homemade, is not the thing you need to worry about.
It's all the cross-contamination that could've happened from the different ingredients involved, sitting out on the counter on Sunday, spooning some on to a plate you've already eaten from, then putting the spoon back in the big batch of salad, etc etc.
You might be fine, but I've had food poisoning from such a salad before. It's so not worth it!
I know we refrigerate food because it retards bacterial growth, but I don't know for how long. If on Tuesday there were some bad bacteria in there, but in small quantity, not enough to make you sick, I don't know how long it would take at refrigerated level to grow into a nasty big colony. Perhaps a lot longer than two days?
I know from my food poisoning experience with the potato salad/cous cous that it doesn't take very long when the food sits outside at the bbq all afternoon!
The ServSafe rule for mayo-based salads is four days. Seafood is generally even less. When I worked in banquets at a hotel, about three days for something like tuna or seafood salad was the norm, provided it hadn't sat out. If it sat out and warmed up at all, we'd throw it out. If it was on ice for less than two hours and never got warmer than 42 degrees, we'd keep it.
However, I'm not one to throw food away. Give it the sniff test, and if it smells off, chuck it. Generally with seafood you're looking for an ammonia or low tide smell (trust me, you'll know) As for the mayo part, also check for a sour or overly sweet smell. That will tell you that it's gone bad.
I have a pretty tough stomach I think, or at least I'm not sick that often, but I am very paranoid about food and germs . I was more concerned about the crabmeat than the mayo.
For the record, I ended up not eating it but my sister came over last night and she ate it and as of right now she is still fine. She is less paraniod but more sensitive, go figure.
I do know smelling doesn't work. By the time it is smellling it is just really bad. But maybe i just don't have as good a nose.
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. I was more concerned about the crabmeat than the mayo.
