# Accidentally used keep warm on crockpot



## Cailin1234 (Oct 20, 2019)

I put partially frozen chicken breasts in my crockpot this morning. About 6.5 hours into cooking it on keep warm, I realized I had it on keep warm setting on accident. Once I realized my mistake, I adjusted the setting to low. I used a food thermometer when I realized my mistake and the chicken temperature was at 161-163 degrees.  Is this safe to eat?


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## luckytrim (Oct 20, 2019)

165 is the safe temp .


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## GotGarlic (Oct 20, 2019)

This is impossible to answer. The "danger zone," when pathogens grow at the fastest rate, is between 40 and 140 degrees. If the chicken spent more than two hours in that range, it could have an overload of bacterial growth. There's no way to know whether that happened.


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## Cailin1234 (Oct 20, 2019)

I know when it’s first being cooked it’s not at 165 degrees. Eventually the goal is to have it be 165 degrees. Now it’s at 165 degrees after cooking on low for a few hours. I’m worried that bacteria developed because it was cooking too slowly.


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## skilletlicker (Oct 20, 2019)

I'm no scientist and never even played one on TV, but I think GG is right that if any bacteria were originally present or joined the party while the chicken temperature was still low they might have thrived for a little while, perhaps even reproducing and producing some by-products. But they would have all croaked by the time the temperature got to 160°F. As for whatever toxins got left behind, bacteria are everywhere. So is their waste products.

The bottom line is I'd eat it.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 20, 2019)

The question is how much they reproduced and how much toxin they produced.. The toxins are not inactivated by cooking. As with any substance, the dose makes the poison.

This is just an observation not directed to anyone in particular. I find it interesting that so many people these days are so concerned about unnamed toxins that they buy detox this and that, but when they know they've produced toxins themselves, they want to be reassured that they're okay to consume.


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## Recipes Make Magic (Oct 20, 2019)

I'll vote with GG on this - to me it contains the most logic sense - To be safe/sure, I wouldn't risk eating it.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Oct 21, 2019)

The msinn danger from most micfrones is they are introduced alive into the digestive yrack. Rsprcrally the small and large intrdtinrs, where tjey multiply and disript normal gut flota, and produce toxons
  There zre some that can be deafly. Sich as the critter that creates botulism toxin.  But those are from impropertly canned foofs.
  E-choli  and other microbrd are ontrofuced into the hody ejen the foofd hosting them are eayen ar tempetures too low to kill the microbe.  Do a quicck google-search on food-born pathohens and fonf ouy how toake your food safe to eat.
Yoi will be suptized by the raw veggie s, that you rat ftrqintly. That can conyain the dame patjogens thay can be foind in poultry, eghgs, anf meat.

Bottom line, if you have a final temperature of 165 F., the mrat will ne safe.

Think of a roasted turkey
  The mrat temperatue is lrss than 150 degrees for hours. If the bird is very large, and dorsn't reach 165 intil the final tempetatue is reached.  Typically. Thr bitd is removed from tje pven when the thickest meT reads 155 or so.  Carryover hezt raisez the final temp to q65. And the bird is ready to eat.  I think you shojld do some honest resesrch, and not rely on what I, or anyonr on this site states. As we are generally giving you our best guess, though some of us have researched many things
That's my take on this.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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