The Ranger > wrote:

> I use crockpots quite a bit but, while I'm not afraid to leave it
> going for extended absences, I don't leave food in it for five
> hours before it starts cooking either. I'd be too worried about
> whether it was safe to eat when I got home, having experienced
> food poisoning a couple times in my life...

Not sure why you think that would be a problem. Anything that
starts to grow is going to be killed by the heat once it starts
cooking. Food poisoning is generally from leaving already
cooked foods out too long, or not cooking raw food sufficiently.
After the first couple of hours of cooking all the pathogens
should be good and dead. As long as you don't delay the start
long enough for putifaction to set in . . .

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.