I am just a home baker hobbyist and I figured I would ask this in here to get more professional answers from you who have food safety knowledge. Lots of recipes say leave out on the counter or fine at room temperature.
What is that standard for room temperature?
What is the cold storage temperature by industry standards?
What temperature do you store your decorated cakes at? Be them BC or Ganache or Fondant?
You can buy buckets of stuff that is OK to sit out at room temperature and have a shelf life. No need to refrigerate after opening due to the preservatives. (Do I understand this correctly thus far?)
Fondant recipes state OK to sit out at room temperature. Some say it should keep for a month. Some say it never goes bad. These recipes do not have the preservatives that the commercially sold by the bucket stuff has do they?

I have made MFF and MMF fondant and kept it double plastic wrapped and bagged inside an air tight container on the counter. After a week I really didnt like the smell of either. You know that funky smell and its not going on a cake! I have read that there is nothing in them that can spoil. I am really not convinced that it is just stale. I think that it is turning or has spoiled. If you make MFF with milk then the milk can spoil. Its perishable-ness(yeah thats not really a word is it?) is somewhat retarded by the cooking and sugar but it is still dairy and should have an expiration date even if stored in a cooler or fridge shouldnt it?
I left some MFF(leftovers) stored as described above and out (well really my cake closet that is colder then the rest of the house and undisturbed by all the little hands that live here) out at room temperature for a month just to test this and it had a ghastly stink. So What is it I am missing about Ok to leave out? I am thinking it must be a temperature thing. Yes I live in FL but keep my AC in 75 so I would estimate (dang it guestimate aint a word either) that the warmer areas go 2 degrees hotter and the cooler areas like my closet stay at 75. And 75 must not be the magic number for food safety. I would like a little insight on this. Thanks with sugar on top.
Sarah

Wow I don't even know what MFF is....is it marshmellow fondant with a curse word? I put cream in my buttercream and it is always out, I do not fridge any cake....,nor my MMF....sorry I can't help........better go look up MFF right away

I don't know any of the industry answer stuff, but I do know that I only use MFF and I refrigerate it or freeze it. I take it out a day or so before I need it and it is great. I don't know how the cooking and candying thing works as far as things not going bad, but I don't trust just leaving things out (a few days, maybe, but not long). I feel more comfortable knowing I've refrigerated or frozen my fondant to keep it fresh - and if I put it in the fridge it's in the coldest part.

I am not an expert however I did take a class in food safety. the unsafe temperature ranges are between 40 degrees and 140 degrees (food danger zone) and you must remember the 4 hour rule. If food is left out in the food danger zone for 4 hours toss it.

one of the problem foods are cooked starches, such as potatoes, pasta, rice, and so forth. I would consider refrigeration where needed.

Room temperature I would suppose is between 50 and 70 degrees. Think supermarket cold. Even canned goods are supposed to be kept in those temperature ranges.

Cold storage temperature same as above , refrigeration 35 to 40 degrees Freezer at 0 degrees or lower.

In our store we have buckets of bc and they do have preservatives however they do develop a nasty smell if kept at too warm of temp or over the expiration date. each bucket is stamp dated with instructions on what temperature to store it. Some buckets of fillings and glazes need refrigeration as well.

Even at home I prefer to refrigerate icings, mmf and fillings

I hope this helps you.

Sad, I just get the heebie jeebies from anything cake related that has instructions that say "store at room temp for days and days and days, and up to "x-amount of weeks". Kinda takes the whole "fresh made" right outta the picture for me. Ummm, no thank you. I'll make it fresh to order, whatever the product. Not knocking those that do, as there are recipes for all kinds of stuff that don't require refrigeration after is made, I personally just don't want to use them.

Jamie I am with you! I have alwasy made it fresh but after seeing that leave it out repeatedly I thought I'd test some unused and see. I don't make cake all that often and if I had leftovers i thought it might be nice to use them later. Nope! So I thought there was something I was missing. So in the fridge it goes.

Renaejrk can you send me the updated version please. TY!

I only bake as a hobby, but would not think a two day old cake left sitting out would be very fresh.

I throw out leftover food from the fridge after 3-4 days, probably still good. I took a food safety class (HACCPP) a few years ago, it's really scary to know what grows on food.

It is scary what CAN grow on food. It doesn't always grow though.

I tend to use up things quickly, but I've had MFF in an air tight bucket for a few weeks and it was perfectly fine. Smelled good... tasted good... no issues. It will grow mold after a long while as I found out after I found some that had been there for months and months.

I tend to err on the side of safety though. If it's not used... it goes in the fridge. I've been using Satin Ice out of sheer need though... that stuff keeps forever...

We never refrigerate my cakes, but then they usually don't last long enough lol to worry.....say...thanks for the MFF heads up...I never would have gotten it

LOL... I must say though Madge... the last time I made MMF... I was calling it MMFF (swear word included).

The only reason that I can think of that your fondant smelled bad after a time is that the dairy products were not cooked enough. I have been using this fondant recipe for well over 10 years with no problems. If I don't plan to use it right away I put it in the freezer. I have only had it go bad when excess has been left out for several months (in the pantry and completely forgotten until I found it looking for something else). It is more likely to get dry or crusty before it spoils sitting out. On this note also, I usually use the "aged" fondant for competition dummies. For fresh cakes I use freshly made fondant.

Michele Foster