Crockpot Food Safety Issues
Crockpots left on warm for many hours leads to overcooked and spoiled food
Hi, I just purchased a programmable Crock-Pot and am looking for vegetarian slowcooker recipes which I see your website has. Thank you!
I hope you can answer my question. It looks like slow-cooking vegetables does not take very much time….about 6 hours or so. If I’m away from home on a 12 hour day at work and I’ve left my food cooking in a crock pot that automatically switches to ‘warm’ once the veggies are cooked.
Is it a problem to have the food on ‘warm’ for those additional 6 hours? Don’t some slow cookers allow you to keep food warm for up to 20 hours? I can’t seem to find information about this on the Crock-pot website.
Many thanks. Nada O.
Savvy Vegetarian Advice:
Hi Nada, You’re welcome!
There are problems associated with leaving crockpots on warm for extended periods (like 6 hours)
1. The food will continue to cook even on warm, so that you get overcooked food.
2. Having food on the warm setting for a long time promotes food spoilage bacteria, so there is a risk of food poisoning.
If you can program your crockpot to turn on at a certain time, so that your food has just finished cooking when you get home, that would be better.
If your crockpot doesn’t do that, then an inexpensive digital electric timer will do the job:
Table-Top Timer with Motion Sensor & Alarm from Improvements, $24.95
Eco Plus Dual Digital Plug-In Timer from Aquacave, $19.95
7-Day Heavy Duty Indoor Digital Plug-In Appliance Timer, Dual Receptacles - White, from Westside Wholesale, $24.95
I’ve looked for these timers at big box stores and haven’t seen them. Home improvement or hardware stores could be a good source, or order online.
While we’re on the subject, another issue with crockpot cooking - lead in ceramic crockpot liners:
Intense discussion of the lead-in-crockpots topic has persisted online as far back as 2006 (that I can find). The basis is that apparently some crockpots have varying amounts of naturally occuring lead in the clay that the pot is made from (usually in China). Supposedly after some time, through heat, and the glaze wearing away, lead leaches through the bottom of the pot and contaminates food.
The most recent post I read about this issue cleared a white Hamilton Beach crockpot which was sent for testing, although there was still some doubt about Rival Crockpots.
Terminal Velocity did a lot of research, and actually had several inexpensive brands tested at a lab. They all tested lead free. Many commenters were skeptical. There was also some concern expressed about other heavy metals, like zinc. Manufacturers generally say that their products meet FDA standards for lead. Most people would prefer no lead ever in their cookware or dishes, rather than the FDA’s “acceptable levels”.
But as Pepper Paints discovered, it seems that if you want that level of food security, you gotta pay for it.
PP reviews a slow cooker and a thermal cooker, both from Supentown, priced in the $50 - $60 range, made with the same clay as the VitaClay cooker. Cuisinart crock pots also got a mention. What I like about the Cuisinart is that you can buy replacement liners and lids.
One of the signs of lead contamination is supposed to be grey discoloring on the bottom of the ceramic liner, which doesn’t scrub off. Both my crockpots have that, and I haven’t used them in 6 months, since I found out about the lead issue. I’ve kind of moved on to using a pressure cooker, but since it’s heading into slow cooker season, guess I’ll cough up the dough and test out a new and better model crockpot. Will keep you posted!
More on Crockpots and Food Poisoning from our crockpot cooking article:
“I’ve heard that there’s no such thing as ‘stomach flu’. It’s always food poisoning. So - don’t leave food sitting around in the crockpot all day on the warm setting. Nasty bacterias just love that! When the food is cooked and you’re ready to eat, turn off the crockpot. When you’re finished eating, and you want to save the rest for another meal, put the contents in a tightly sealed container, and put that in the fridge or freezer, right away.”
Tags: crockpot cooking, crockpot safety, food poisoning, food safety, slow cooker
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My experience with slow cookers has been mixed.
I’ve had four so far, and the heating element has broken in each after only months of use. (It’s not a brand thing; more like a commentary on small kitchen appliances today!)
The food tastes odd. No doubt about that. Food is definitely less tasty prepared in a slow cooker.
The textures are not the most enjoyable. Kids who are picky may not eat the oddly-textured veggies that come out of a slow cooker.
Finally, all the colors in my veggies and spices (paprika) disappear. It’s as if slow heat kills the antioxidant plant pigments.
I’m back to stove top cooking.
Crockpots may not be as useful for vegetarians/vegans. There is just less reason to have your food heating for hours and hours. Plant food doesn’t take as long to cook. Vegetarian staples, like beans, are likely to become overcooked and mushy. Luckily, cooking, handling, and cleaning of veggies is a quicker and simpler process than with meat.
Tightly sealing the food and putting it in the fridge is fine if the food has already cooled. If not you shouldn’t put hot food in a sealed container. It might not cool to the proper temp (under 40 degrees) within a safe time frame (2 hours).
Thanks, Diane! Was that a digital timer? I’ve seen timers at those stores, but they’re all manual dial timers which are a pain in the arse to use.
Hey I had the same dilema til I found an expensive timer at the Dollar Store that works just great. I use one on my lamps in the winter so the house is lit up while I am driving home from work in the dark at 4pm(sigh). I plugged one in to my crockpot and voila you have a timed crock pot working for you. I suggest trying there before going elsewhere but you can also find one at places like Walmart and Zellers. Good luck! Happy “Crocking”. Diane in Canada.