how long can you leave lunch meat out
Best Answer: i would do one of the following.. The rule of thumb is 2 hours. Because lunch meat contains so much salt and preservatives, I'd eat it after 8 or 9 hours left out( and have). The chance of spoilage is of course is always there. But after just 4 or 5 hours, I would just refrigerate it. I am pretty careful about following HACCP( safe food handling and temp control) but in this case, knowing that companies pump these products, the chances are slim that they would go bad in 4 or 5 or 6 hours.