How long will my sandwich stay good?

Question

I want to pack a sandwich lunch tomorrow with meat & mayo but I have no way of keeping it cool. How long do i have to eat it before it goes bad? Mayo & meat not chilled makes me nervous.

Answer 1

the general rule is no more than 2 hours, above 4 degrees celcius,i wouldn,t even leave it that long..bactria will start to multiply very rapidly above 4 degrees..

Answer 2

It's not the mayo you have to worry about( high acidic) it's the meat spoiling the mayo.

Mayo can stay out for a very long time.

But the real question is, what kind of meat?

If it's preserved deli meat, I'd go 4 to 6 hours and I do it all the time.

If it's fresh roast beef or turkey( as the above poster said) 2 hours.

He is of course referring to HACCP which is a critical control point analysis. This is the strictest standard for food safety.

Answer 3

Probably good for 2 hours.

Answer 4

Unrefrigerated meat sandwich with mayo.  Not great if you can't keep it cold...

Why not toss a half-full plastic bottle of water in the freezer tonight and then tomorrow morning stick the ice-bottle in with your sandwich?  Or throw in a refrigerated apple/orange/can of soda in with it in the morning?

OR...and this just came to me and is untested...freeze the whole darn sandwich (minus lettuce/tomato/etc) and pack it up in the morning?  By lunchtime it should be about thawed.  Frozen bread thaws fine, the mayo's oil based.  Coat both inner surfaces of the bread lightly with the mayo to help repel any moisture that may come from thawing out  the meat.  Dang, I want to try this!

I hope something in this message helps...:)

Answer 5

For decades I have made lunches and the idea of meat and mayonnaise is something i have never tried.

I have had lettuce and mayonnaise, and more types of meat that I can think of, including tinned fish, and am not dead yet.

The sandwiches were made in the evening and eaten at 1200 the next day.