I cooked chicken in the oven today before picking up my son from school and left it out to cool (covered) while I picked him up. By the time I finished cooking the rest of dinner, the chicken had been out for 2 hours. The safety recommendation is past 2 hours, toss it. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about it and I would definitely eat it, but I’m pregnant so I’m being extra cautious AND my toddler and I just had a bout of stomach bug less than a week ago so I really didn’t feel like riding the vomit train again so soon. Anyway, my question is the title. Where does the bacteria come from that causes illness after you eat it? I assume the air but is the air in my home less likely to spoil the food as quickly as say, a restaurant or somewhere outdoors? And lastly, since I’ve put the chicken in the fridge, would reheating it tomorrow kill any of that bacteria?