re: Left out gumbo

quote:

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Take a sniff and decide if it passes the sniff test. If it does, then take a test taste and see if it passes the funky taste test. If it passes both tests, then eat away, and good luck.

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I think it would be prudent to add that,while this would present evidence of spoilage bacteria, it is not an assured method for detecting the presence of many of the pathogens that can cause food-borne illnesses.

Pathogenic microbes do not produce detectable odors and are tasteless when they grow in food. Otherwise, more food-borne illness outbreaks would be prevented by sniffing and taste testing the food.

I don't have a master's degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry...