smoker not started

[tomrip]

hello, i have a cookshack. last night the worker loaded the porkbutts in the smoker, and never started it. this was at 11:00. The smoker was on, but holding at temp 165. the morning person came in and started it. would this meat be bad? or would the 160 temp keep bacteriea from growing?

 

[ynotfehc]

Toss it!
The temp danger zone is between 40 and 140, science has determined that in this zone, bacteria and microbes grow at a significant rate, but outside of this range growth is greatly reduced. When food, not ambient temperature, is in this range for long too long, the amount of growth is no longer suitable for consumption. I can almost positively say that your pork did not reach a safe temp fast enough. Unless you took the temperature of the meat, which im assuming you didnt, throw it out. If you have a 20gal cambro of boiling soup that you put straight into the cooler, the cooler temp will not keep your food safe either, the temperature of the food is all that matters.