Biology Forums - Study Force

I'm planning on purchasing hot food to be eaten within 2 hrs. My main concern is microbes, but I'm also wondering about degradation, the latter about loss of flavor & texture. I have lunch bags that I could bring in case it's better to keep them in it instead of letting it cool to room temperature.

Should I put the hot food in a lunch bag or not?

Thank you kindly

I don't see any harm in that. A plastic bag is mostly a sterile environment.

There might be plain lunch bags in stores in my location, but I don't remember ever seeing one. I'm referring to a thermal insulating one.

As long as the thermal insulation is clean, it won't promote bacterial growth, especially if the food is cooked.

What food are you talking about?

Mostly a dish made of egg noodles, beef, bean sprouts & onions. If I referred to hot in this thread, it means cooked.

In that case, leaving it idle in a closed compartment should leave it free from harmful bacteria for 2 hours safely. If the food is cooked, it implies all of the bad bacteria is destroyed.

All destroyed? I'm skeptical, but I have no biology training whatsoever. I'm assuming you're implying that leaving hot food in a thermal bag is just as good, or better than letting it cool down, for a 2 hrs delay.

From experience alone, food takes a lot longer than two hours to spoil after its been cooked. We keep food in the pot it was cooked in for hours before storing it in the fridge. Let's assume you finished cooling a meal, where 99.9% of the germs have been destroyed. It'll take days before the remaining 0.01% bacteria grows into something will cause any harm, whether it is placed in a vessel or kept out.