Nothing wrong with cold smoked meats, if you know what you are doing. That said,
In the temp range of 40-140* F. Is always known as the danger zone for bacteria growth. If the piece of meat has, say 10 staphylococcus aureus, or and, salmonella, or E. Coli, the growth rate of these bacteria in say a 5 hour smoke session would go from 10 to 327,680. In 6 hours those original 10 bacteria would become 2,621,440 million bacteria. This is no game!
The saving grace is that the smoking process dries the meat, lowering the Aw (available water) this is another hurdle in food safety, but if not done properly, could become a food hazard. In a warm smoke ( 40-140* F) The only protection is the nitrite, then the drying (Aw drop). Salt would come to play too but needs to be in the 3% range to be effective (this level of salt is not popular in bacon, too salty). Meat selection is absolutely key. Fresh killed and processed meat, by yourself or a very reputable processor, is best. Buying meat at the grocery as mass produced is anybody’s guess. Usually this meat is fine, but they do have recalls from time to to for bacteria infection. Roll those dice, use intelligence guided by experience. Let’s be safe out there.