Cold ham and turkey thanksgiving leftovers?

photogirl07 · November 2011

Sorry if this has been asked already, but if we have cold thanksgiving leftovers like honey baked ham or turkey (from a whole turkey that we roasted), are those OK to eat cold or do I still need to worry about Listeria? I am ready for a COLD ham or turkey sandwich!

melisa7901 · November 2011

You don't have to worry about listeria unless the meat is around uncooked hot dogs. That's where the bacteria comes from, not from the turkey or ham. I thought the deli meat contained the bacteria through my whole first pregnancy so I completely avoided it. When I went in for my nurse visit with this pregnancy she said it's from the hot dogs. Happy eating!!

mrs.gee · November 2011

Do you cook and slice the ham yourself? I would think if you got it at a store it would run the same risk as any other cold cut (and would need to be nuked). I've never heard that the only source of listeria was uncooked hot dogs, but I'm interested in others's answers.You should be fine with the turkey.

mrs+harlow · November 2011

melisa7901:
You don't have to worry about listeria unless the meat is around uncooked hot dogs. That's where the bacteria comes from, not from the turkey or ham. I thought the deli meat contained the bacteria through my whole first pregnancy so I completely avoided it. When I went in for my nurse visit with this pregnancy she said it's from the hot dogs. Happy eating!!

The likelihood of getting sick from listeria from meat is extremely rare ...but your nurse is wrong. Hot dogs are not the only meat that can be contaminated with listeria - the contamination happens in the growing, processing or packaging phase which can occur with anything including hot dogs,

nah82 · November 2011

melisa7901:
You don't have to worry about listeria unless the meat is around uncooked hot dogs. That's where the bacteria comes from, not from the turkey or ham. I thought the deli meat contained the bacteria through my whole first pregnancy so I completely avoided it. When I went in for my nurse visit with this pregnancy she said it's from the hot dogs. Happy eating!!

Must've been a lot of raw hot dogs on the farm where the cantaloupes that were contaminated with listeria came from... Confused

But your ham and turkey are going to be cooked beforehand, so just as long as they are properly handled like you would any other time and eaten within a reasonable amount of time, you will be fine. We had our big Thanksgiving meal last weekend and I've been eating cold turkey sandwiches since.

metucker · November 2011

melisa7901:
You don't have to worry about listeria unless the meat is around uncooked hot dogs. That's where the bacteria comes from, not from the turkey or ham. I thought the deli meat contained the bacteria through my whole first pregnancy so I completely avoided it. When I went in for my nurse visit with this pregnancy she said it's from the hot dogs. Happy eating!!

Yeah, this is totally wrong.

Anyway, if you store it in the fridge relatively quickly and eat it within a day or two, I would think it would be fine.

Mamasaurus · November 2011

Listeria is not the only concern. You don't know what else in the fridge might have touched it since it was cooked, or if somebody may have touched raw meat and then the cooked meat, or what. Since cross-contamination is always an issue, I would err on the side of caution and always reheat the meat. That said, if it's stored in a sealed container it probably is safer than store-bought lunchmeat turkey. If you absolutely have a cold turkey craving so bad you think you might flip a car if you don't satisfy it, it's probably safer to go with what you have at home.

ASmallWonder · November 2011

melisa7901:
You don't have to worry about listeria unless the meat is around uncooked hot dogs. That's where the bacteria comes from, not from the turkey or ham. I thought the deli meat contained the bacteria through my whole first pregnancy so I completely avoided it. When I went in for my nurse visit with this pregnancy she said it's from the hot dogs. Happy eating!!

I think I may have responded to you about this same thing once before. Listeria does NOT come from hot dogs. Hot dogs can be contaminated but do not cause it. Listeria can be found in fruits and vegetables, in addition to lunch meat. I would seriously have a hard time not calling out a nurse for saying something so absurd.

tqsbride · November 2011

In today's age of easy access to information, who wouldn't just check out the CDC to get info on Listeria? That nurse's response is troubling.

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