To me, there's a few things at play.
First, standards are different, no doubt about it. But biology? Well, it's biology. Critical cut points are always going to be 41f and 140k (seen some say 160f for some things). So if something has been stored at over 41f for a prolonged period, I'll take heating it to 140f (the kill point). However, if you butcher something today, serve it to me medium rare tomorrow, like lamb, I'm fine with that. Four days in, no refrigeration, salt, etc? Well, 140f please.
Speaking of salt, there's more than one way to prevent spoilage than temp. GT talked about marinading meat. This can stop bacterail growth, if there's a goodly amount of acid or base. It will also make the meat tender, so room temp, covered meat in an acidic marinade? No problems for me. Something heavily salted? Again, no problems. Bacteria will "lyse", i.e. basically die due to the hyperosmolarity of the environs. Basic agents, like hops, will again prevent spoilage, and the beer was already made free of bugs through the boiling process. So boil, hops, store = safer than water.
Some things need bacteria. Cheese, for instance, can be ripened faster if not overly refrigerated. It also tastes a helluva lot better, served at room temp. Aging meat requires some help from bugs too. Temp, humidity, and osmolarity can again come into play, from dry aging beef, through salting and aging pork (you think prosciutto is basically not uncooked, carefully rotted meat?)
So, use your head, would be my advice.
