Can someone please explain why food that has been kept at room temperature for a few hours is more likely to cause food poisoning than food that has been kept in the refrigerator?

Because food kept at room temperature is somewhat exposed to air, and sometimes, the air can contain dangerous chemicals that were perhaps accidentally released, whereas food in the refrigerator doesn't apply to that problem.

Explanation:

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for example, no new evidence will demonstrate that the earth does not orbit around the sun (heliocentric theory), or that living things are not made of cells (cell theory), that matter is not composed of atoms, or that the surface of the earth is not divided into solid plates that have moved over geological timescales .