Mayonaise

[bbqjoe]

After reading some of yesterdays posts concerning mayonaise I am completely flabbergasted.
I am not disputing what was read, but this goes against everything I ever heard or was taught.
I'm fairly certain, that if I had cold table pan of mayo sitting at room temp open on a counter when the health inspector came in, she would have something to say about it.

Fortunately, I don't serve mayo here except for slaw and potato salad, which are always kept cold.

I have too often witnessed mayo handling that has caused me to never order it in a restaurant.
I have seen pans of mayo that have been sitting unused for hours, developing that yellowish transparent layer on top, only to be stirred in and then applied to a sandwich.

Well, maybe the mayo hasn't grown any bacteria, but I'm not counting on it.

[CharlieBeasley]

Joe Come on you are the man. What are the real facts not gut feeling (pardon the pun) We had a few links in the other thread what do the health departments say?

[bbqjoe]

I have a call into my local health inspector.
Please stand by.......

[Sledneck]

I recieved a bottle of squeeze mayo in my gift bag from grillin on the bay and it says right on front "no refrigeration" its been open and in my cabinet and still seems good

[timzcardz]

For those that might have missed yesterday's discussion, here is the link that was provided to a mayonnaise fact sheet, wherein it states that it does not need to be refrigerated from a safety standpoint.

http://www.co.yakima.wa.us/health/documents/mayoo.pdf

[bigabyte]

Well, I guess pickles don't need refrigeration, so it makes sense. Same with pickled eggs. Still creepy to think about though.

[kcquer]

From the days before refrigeration, pickling and salting were the proper methods of food storage.

[bbqjoe]

I just got off the phone with our health dept inspector.
I asked her about the refrigeration of mayo.
I told her of the literature that said mayo didn't need refrigeration if the eggs used were pasturized. She said she wasn't aware of that info.
I then asked her how she would react if she walked into my kitchen and saw a pan of mayo on the counter at room temp.

She said that she would first ask why this was out and not under refrigeration.
She said that if I explained the above to her, she would want to see the packaging. If the package stated that refrigeration was not required, then she would have to go with the manufacturers recommendation on the label.

Personal note: I'm keeping mine refrigerated, period.

[bigabyte]

Does anyone else find it odd that a Health Dept. Inspector was not aware of this? I think the inspector gave a great answer considering the circumstances, but I would have guessed this would have been a water cooler topic at some point over there at the Health Dept.

[timzcardz]

Well, with a little digging, found out that Hellmann's (Best's, west of the Rockies) agrees that mayonnaise is not a safety issue.

http://www.unilever800.com/hellmanns...When=6/22/2006

[wnkt]

Theres probably so much chemicals in the regular retail mayo now adays that its not as big a problem.

[qman]

Originally Posted by wnkt

Theres probably so much chemicals in the regular retail mayo now adays that its not as big a problem.

It is not so much a matter of chemicals, as it is chemistry. Truth is that Mayo is a very stable product, with enough acidity to retard bactarial growth.

[BrooklynQ]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

Well, with a little digging, found out that Hellmann's (Best's, west of the Rockies) agrees that mayonnaise is not a safety issue.

http://www.unilever800.com/hellmanns...When=6/22/2006

It's an interesting debate, because I asked the guy from Hellman's about the Mayo he gave us for Grillin' On The Bay and he said that no Hellman's or Best (Same product different name) Mayo needed to be refridgerated. But they only labeled the squeeze bottle as such. Regular jars still have the refriderate after opening waring on them. As he put it, "Marketing my boy, marketing."

[Jeff_in_KC]

I'm with Joe on this one... I'm just keeping mine refrigerated anyway regardless of the documentation.

[timzcardz]

It is good to keep it refrigerated from a quality standpoint, it's just not required from a safety standpoint.

Form the linked fact sheet:

Q.What happens if I leave
mayonnaise unrefrigerated
for a long period of time?

A. From a food safety standpoint, commercial mayonnaise and
mayonnaise-type dressings are perfectly stable when stored at room
temperature after opening. Quality, not safety, is the only reason
the labels on these products suggest that they be refrigerated after
opening. Refrigeration ensures that the commercial mayonnaise
keeps its fresh flavor for a longer period of time.