Am I going to get Food Poisoning?

No I don’t think there’s a risk of it from that or putting it on your warmed Buffalo wings

that’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard!? why would the warm ranch make you sick?

I don’t think you are going to get food poisoning simply from warmed up ranch dressing. It would have to have a particular kind of bacteria in it, I think. But I am not a doctor. The time I had food poisoning, it was from a turkey sandwich that had been out for a day, then put in the frig overnight, and then eaten. The way it worked, the food poisoning, was I felt it go from my head all the way down my body over about 24 hours.

If there is no botulism or other bad bacteria present in the ranch sauce, the temperature doesn’t matter.

If there is botulism or other bad bacteria present in the ranch sauce, the temperature doesn’t matter, either.

Perhaps you are thinking of situations like, say, a picnic, where there was ranch or mayo that got warm in the sun and bacteria grew in it and got people sick. Remember that time is a factor here – if it sits out for a long time and bacteria grow, you’d get sick. But it’s not necessarily that the ranch got warm, it’s that it stayed lukewarm for long enough to support, uh, life. Just warming it up in the oven won’t do that, assuming you ate it immediately. Just don’t leave it on the counter overnight and eat it, or anything silly like that.

The temperature of the ranch dressing is irrelevant. The handling and storage of the ranch dressing matters.

I think you are mixing up the idea that leaving a mayonnaise based product at room temperature or hot weather can grow bacteria. As long as it’s fresh you can heat it up all you want. I’m no doctor but i think it’s the slightly moderate temperatures over a period of time which contribute to it, but not high temperatures. Like cooking a turkey at 125 degrees for a period of time pulling it out and letting it sit…very bad.

Ok, thank you all so much for just giving me peace of mind… I get paranoid about my food and thought I would ask others :)

@leahmarie Welcome to fluther. Lurve.

No. Just no.

Actually, only homemade requires refrigeration. Commercial mayo will not cause food poisoning even if left unrefrigerated or out on a table at a picnic for long periods of time. Refrigeration is only recommended to maintain the flavor. .

@Supacase
Yes come to think of it, I’ve had mayonnaise many times on sandwiches for lengthy periods of time in a warm environment and never gotten sick.

Like everyone else has said as long as it was still good before you heated it but just the though of hot ranch make me a little queasy.

Actually, the mere thought of Ranch dressing makes me a little queasy

Yes, goodbye.

@leahmarie GQ, I have always wondered about this myself.

@Supacase – That is an interesting site. Who would ever have guess that there is an Association for dressings and sauces???

I have heard of cases where schools have had bad experiences with mayonnaise on sandwiches. I think they are frozen, thawed and then the bad stuff begins to grow?? I am sure that is not homemade, it must be commercial.

Why does anyone thing that is?

Absolutely not.

From that mayo article- “Commercial mayonnaise products are made with pasteurized eggs in a high-acid environment that slows, even inhibits, bacterial growth. It’s the low-acid ingredients (chicken, ham, potatoes) that are often mixed with mayonnaise which are most susceptible to the growth of food poisoning bacteria and must be handled properly for a safe and happy picnic” she reports.

In other words, a jar of mayo left out probably won’t hurt you, but how many people snack on a warm jar of mayo? On the other hand, if you mix mayo with other ingredients, such as chicken (chicken salad, anyone?) and let it get warm and old, that is what encourages bacterial growth. It’s a little misleading.

“how many people snack on a warm jar of mayo?”

As long as there are crackers, my son will.