Why is food safety so exaggerated in America?

Question

Where I live you just smell the food and check for signs of spoilage like mold and if it smells and looks fine we just eat it. But why do Americans throw away perfectly fine food if it has been left out for 2 hours? I have been eating food left out for more than 5 hours and I’m just fine. I never got sick as long as it wasn’t out for days then it’s fine but I don’t get why people literally throw food that has been out for 2 hours when it looks and smells fine. 2 hours is just absurd lol.

Answer

I think we're conditioned to throw food out so we have to buy more...the same way they don't put the real expiration dates on food. So we aren't all that accurate....

Answer

In Norway every food product labeled with “best before” has also to have written “usually good even after” or “not necessarily bad after” and the symbol “look-smell-taste”

Answer

2 hours is generally not a huge deal but many pathogens can not been seen or smelled.  Especially if the food was improperly cooked to start with.      And just because you've eaten it that was 100 times doesnt mean the 101st time wont make you deathly ill     I worked in food service amd they explained a lot of food born illness and it is scary

Answer

Depends on what it is. 
40 degrees-140 degrees is the food safety danger zone where bacteria has the opportunity to grow rapidly and you can get seriously sick. 
Just bc someone hasn’t gotten sick from the sniff and smell method, good for you I suppose. Not everyone’s immune system is as good as the other.

Answer

5 hours of a meat dish left on the counter in South Florida would likely not be a good idea. I do think the food safety rules are more strict than necessary, but it just means it's a yellow flag eg you may need to reheat it super hot to kill any extra bacteria, or example defrosting chicken on the counter you can but you then have to be careful that the exterior doesnt get too warm and the interior gets fully cooked.....you just have to take an extra step to be careful.

Answer

I imagine it came about because one person got sick one time and most companies would like to protect themselves from the sue-happy American public. As another commenter mentioned, not all bad bacteria come with a smell, so that isn’t really a great way to determine whether something has gone bad or not.

Answer

Some foods I'll eat if they're left out but things that need to be refrigerated can grow bacteria 
Also things like cross contamination can make you very sick

Answer

My sister manages hotel services (catering, cleaning, security, etc.) for a string of hospitals so she follows super strict / hospital grade food safety rules at home. I'm pretty happy to drop a piece of carrot on the floor, pick it up, and still eat it. We grew up in the same household so there's difference in personal preference that layers into this. I would take more risks than her with things like expiration dates. 
My husband is from the Philippines and I often can't eat at his family home because their standard practice in food safety doesn't cut it for me and I get sick every time: I have to be really careful what options I take at family dinner. Food will be reheated and cooled multiple times, food will stay out on the counter for 8 hours and then go back in the fridge and then back on the counter, reheating is often inconsistent (not heated through). I like eating my food hot and it's often too hot for my husband: he has spent his whole life eating lukewarm food. 
Because of our behaviours we have differing levels of sensitivity. If I dumped my sister at my MILs house she'd be sick in 5 minutes. Do Americans take it too far? Maybe. But I'd rather err on the side of caution than poop water every 5 minutes for a week.

Answer

I’d be curious if your thoughts are still individual and not country based though.
I think this is a taught and/or generational thoughts, not necessarily country specific. My parents are a we don’t waste type, and eat an absurd amount of very expired food. I had terrible stomach issues growing up. Then when I lived on my own and later married my husband, no issues.

Answer

I think all safety precautions are way too exaggerated in the US and I honestly think it has to do with the government not wanting us to think for ourselves. My mom left food out on the counter overnight and then munched on it in the morning my whole life. I've also coslept with my son and even left him in the car for 30 seconds at a time in order to run to get something. We're all fine. The medical field likes to use the word "NEVERRRRRRR" way too much. The only thing you should really NEVER do is leave a child in a pool. Other than that, there's room for discretion.

Why is food safety so exaggerated in America?

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