Panic over eating a 2 week old cake

[kingkong]

Dear all,
I was away on vacation for the last 2 weeks.
While most people enjoy their vacation, I spent most of the time worried about falling sick.

Back at work (this morning), I saw a cake on the table and ate it. It tasted like a normal cake.

After eating it, I read the card that came along with the cake.
I realised that the cake was left on the table 2 weeks back and should atleast be 2 weeks old ( even if made fresh).

Now I am worried about bacteria and all the organisms that would have grown in/on the cake.

Is it possible for anyone to get sick after eating old food?

Thanks.

[HannahA]

If it was two weeks ago that you ate it you would have had some syymptoms by now. Food poisoning will strike within 12 hours so I'd say you're fine!

[blackbroom]

HannahA, I don't think the OP ate it two weeks ago, I think s/he was saying that it was left on the table two weeks ago and she's only just eaten it.

kingkong: What was in the cake? If it had some kind of fresh dairy filling in the middle, it might be a food poisoning risk, but cake is usually very low risk, because it's got a low moisture content and all the ingredients have been cooked at 180 degrees C + in the oven, which will kill off most bacteria. Cake tends to go stale rather than bad.

You might be unlucky, but I'd say food poisoning was unlikely.

[TheScript]

No, you'll be fine. The worst that can happen is that your stomach will feel a little upset. Don't worry about it.

[kingkong]

As a matter of fact, I got tired of worrying about my stomach and my health.
That is why I decided that I should eat happily like normal people.

Normally I would think- what would be in the cake? what about the preservatives? who had delivered it? is it possible that a cockroach might have tasted it? ( a bit like Dr Sheldon Cooper- TBBT fans know what I mean).

But this morning, as soon as I saw the cake, I ate it. Now I am worrying even worse. Perhaps I could have avoided the cake and gotten on with my usual worries instead.

Thanks for all the replies and much appreciate your comments.

Blackbroom, it was a cup cake. came in its own plastic cover. had no filling in the middle, covered in the top with some extremely sweet white stuff ( icing perhaps?)

When I walk on the beach, if at all a seagull drops, it is likely to fall on my shirt if million people are around.
On an occassion, I was sitting on a bench in a park and enjoying the sun. A kid kicked up a foot ball. The ball hit a slender pole(how improbable is that), bounced back and hit just one person on the face of all the available people (that was me).
So much for probability. This is what makes me worried.

[blackbroom]

I'm sure it will be fine, especially if it was plastic wrapped. I often eat commercially produced cakes well past their best before date and nothing's ever happened to me. The icing is unlikely to be a problem - sugar has antibacterial properties (hospitals still use it to dress wounds if other antibacterials have failed and the reason why jam and marmalade keep so long unrefrigerated is because the sugar prevents bacterial growth). The cake was cooked and low moisture, so is unlikely to harbour bacteria.

As for probability, you've got to factor in, not just how many other people weren't hit in the face by the ball on the occasion when you were, but the number of occasions when you were in a park and a kid was playing ball and you WEREN'T hit in the face. It's easy to remember the occasions when something bad happens to you and forget the thousands of times when something bad didn't happen :)

[Eyji1]

Two week old cake? I'd be dead if eating two week old cake was dangerous.

[kingkong]

Thanks blackbroom. It never occurred to me that sugar has antibacterial properties. And thanks for putting a perspective on probability as well. I have come across this in one of the CBT courses I took, but its hard to replace old habits.

Thanks Eyji1 and others who have replied.

[bagpuss75]

I absolutely understand you on this one. A lot of my worries/ panics recently have been around food and use-by dates. It's quite exhausting and most unwelcome. I used to be the person who would look at something and if it looked ok and smelt ok, I'd just use it.
Now I'm constantly worried that when I've made things for people (which is something I love to do), that I'll give them food poisoning. I'm the same with things I consume myself.
I keep reassuring myself that so far, I haven't managed to poison anyone and I'm very careful, but it doesn't really help.
From an outsider's point of view, there is no problem with eating a cake that's two weeks' old. You'll be fine, but I completely understand where you're coming from.

[noaalessi]

:) no need to worry. If anything were to happen it'd already happened. Look on the bright side, you did enjoy the taste.. maybe you'll even like to repeat it (fresh this time) :) chill out, tale care!

[kingkong]

Thanks for your kind words bagpuss75. You mentioned you used to be a different person.

I was just like that. carefree and happy go lucky. That was until 7th November 2011. That was the day I got admitted into a hospital for the first time in life. A weeks stay in the hospital affected my mind and attitude. The hospital was fantastic, its just that the thought of confined to a closed space in the hospital, and the effect it will have on my work drove me to depression and worries. When I get a sensation, my mind goes into various "what-ifs" and pushes me to worries.

So now I worry about each and every minor thing.

Thanks for your kind words noaalessi.

As all you had said, I am ok, apart from the usual upset tummy and guts.