Home made Icebox smoker temperature safety

by Tim
(Bath, NH)

Hi,
Love your site. I'm learning a great deal and thank you and all of those who participate.

I have fashioned a smoker from an old icebox. It's approximately the size of an average refrigerator.

I use a wood burning box stove as my fire box and have run approximately 20 feet of stovepipe in between the stove and icebox. I use an oven thermometer in the icebox to monitor temperature.

At present, all I have been smoking is store bought pepperoni sticks, summer sausage, and a variety of cheeses.

Everything I have smoked so far, has been smoked at a very low temperature... perhaps no hotter than 60, to 80 degrees (if that).

My question; If I took a stick of pepperoni, or summer sausage and left it out on my kitchen counter at room temperature for 48 hours, I would be concerned about eating it due to possible spoilage. On the other hand, I put the same food into my smoker for 48 hours, which probably doesn't get much hotter than room temperature, and I DO/can eat the food.

Pepperoni, and summer sausage can obviously be eaten without cooking, but I am concerned about spoilage in my "cold smoker" environment. The pepperoni, summer sausage, and cheeses that I have already smoked, taste very good, and I (we) have seen no adverse affects from eating them, but I DO want to make sure I am not "flirting with danger" with my "cold smoke" method.

Why is it not spoiling in my smoker (or is it!)?
Is there something about the food being in a Smokey environment, that protects it from spoilage, even though the environment is "cool"?
Ultimately, is the pepperoni, sausage, and cheese that I am smoking in this fashion REALLY safe to eat?

My smoker is capable of running at the very low temps I describe, or I could open my dampers and the icebox will reach temperatures up to 300 to 400 degrees. I have not tried to "cook" anything at those high temperature yet, though I hope to do so as I study your sight and learn more about it.

Before I move up to higher temperature "cooking", I want to make sure that what I am smoking at low/cool temperature is safe.

Next, I hope to try smoking fish (salmon, trout) and will also smoke it at very low temp (if safe per your answer). Then I'd like to try some bacon (I assume at low temp), then I'll be moving on to try to actually "cook" some meat at the higher temperatures (chicken, hams, turkey etc.)

Thank you for your kind consideration of my questions, and for the wonderful website you maintain. It is a God-send!

Best,
Tim