Hi, i’m new to sous vide. I was in the midst of cooking my pork at 58degree C for 24 hours. While i was away at work it stopped due to low water level. Now we have managed to restart the precision cooker by adding more water.
My main concern is, is my pork still safe for consumption? T.T
Thanks heaps
“In the midst” meaning how long? I’m guessing that you can’t be sure, seeing that you weren’t there to watch it.
It’s likely to be fine. The meat is sealed airtight, so nothing external will get to it. If power failed early, and there were a few hours after power failed before you could turn the APC back on, there may have been a period where bacteria were still alive and could contaminate the meat. On the other hand, if power failed late (say, just before you got home), chances are that the meat was pasteurised already.
To be on the safe side, I’d re-start the cook at the original 58 ºC as if you had never started it. You may end up with meat that is a lot softer and mushier than you would like, but it should be safe.
Obviously, if you have anything unusual, such as discolouration, bloating of the bag, or off smell, throw the whole thing out.
Hi! Thanks for the prompt reply, the last I check at 11th hour it is still on. I’ve restarted it at 60degree.
I will take ur advise and changed it back to 58 degree.
Thanks!!
Were you able to check the water temperature before you added additional water?
Ard 36-38degree C
The food will likely be safe (as michihenning said), but it could have been in the “danger zone” longer than desired. Any idea how long it was stopped?
If you think it could have been in the “danger zone” (between 40F-127F) for more than 2 hours, the usual guidance is to toss the meat. Meat’s that been pasteurized is more forgiving, but there’s pathogens (spores) that can survive higher temperatures and can reproduce when in the danger zone.
You can gamble, but I wouldn’t be serving this food to any children, elderly or anyone with compromised immune systems.
Thanks!!! Good to know… will eat it myself 
One more factor to toss out here…were you cooking in an insulated container?
You’ve said the bath dropped down to 36C from the cook temp of 58C. If you were cooking in an insulated container the temp would drop slowly, while in a non insulated container it might drop pretty fast. You can probably check to see how fast the temp drops down to 36C after you finish your cook just to get a feeling for how long your unit had shut down. If it looks like it sat there for 6 or 7 hours in the danger zone you might want to be wary.