i know i'll prolly get flamed for this.. but cooked chicken (make that, properly handled and cooked chicken) , that has sat for 5 hours in itself ain't gonna kill anyone. if you read that, the joint had a 91 last inspection.. and not long before that was shut down (SHUT DOWN) for temp issues. now, been in the food biz for a long time. Have had some temp issues here and there. mostly on the line (too full of pans, etc..) and took hits. but to be shut down? i'm not eating there..ever.
my guess is that 5 hours on the table was the last 5 hours. figure some time before that it sat at the restaurant. my guess is that their handling of the meat, at any point, was at fault. not saying that leaving the food on the counter was a great choice. not safe and not smart. but enough to get you sick? better to be safe than pooping..er..sorry..
lil snip from wiki on that bug.
"In the United Kingdom and United States,
C. perfringens bacteria are the third-most-common cause of food-borne illness, with poorly prepared meat and poultry the main culprits in harboring the bacterium.
[4] The
Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) mediating the disease is heat-labile (dies at 74 °C) and can be detected in contaminated food, if not heated properly, and feces .
[6]
Incubation time is between 6 and 24 (commonly 10-12) hours after ingestion of contaminated food. Often, meat is well prepared but too far in advance of consumption. Since
C. perfringens forms spores that can withstand cooking temperatures, if let stand for long enough, germination ensues and infective bacterial colonies develop. Symptoms typically include abdominal cramping and diarrhea; vomiting and fever are unusual. The whole course usually resolves within 24 hours. Very rare, fatal cases of
clostridial necrotizing enteritis (also known as Pig-Bel) have been known to involve "Type C" strains of the organism, which produce a potently ulcerative
β-toxin. This strain is most frequently encountered in
Papua New Guinea.
It is likely that many cases of
C. perfringens food poisoning remain
subclinical, as
antibodies to the toxin are common among the population. This has led to the conclusion that most of the population has experienced food poisoning due to
C. perfringens.
[4]
Despite its potential dangers, Clostridium perfringens is used as the
leavening agent in
salt rising bread. The baking process is thought to reduce the bacterial contamination, precluding negative effects.
[7]"