Many New Zealanders have stood before the fridge pondering how long a container of leftover food has been in there before giving the contents a hearty sniff.
It’s a common question posed by people who hate food waste — but some may not be aware of the official advice when it comes to keeping, reheating and eating leftovers.
Newly-released advice from New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) to coincide with World Food Safety Day has outlined the top tips to help Kiwis avoid things that may make them ill.
“Many of these foodborne illnesses are due to poor food preparation, cooking, or storage at home,” said NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.
He said the food safety at home booklet was packed with science-based information and included updated advice on how long leftovers should be kept.
Here’s the official advice outlined in NZFS’s new booklet:
How long should you keep leftovers?
Rice-based
Rice-based leftovers should be kept refrigerated and eaten within two days.
“These types of leftovers are risky because uncooked rice can contain bacterial spores that survive cooking. The spores then form bacteria, which produce toxins that cause food poisoning – and toxins are not destroyed by reheating.”
Cooked food eaten cold
“Leftovers of cooked meals that are normally eaten without reheating – like pasta salads, roast vege salads or potato salads – should be refrigerated and eaten within two days.”
Leftovers eaten hot
Keep them refrigerated and eat them within four days. Reheat until piping hot before eating.
Leftover green salads
“Eat salads containing raw leafy greens as soon as you can after preparation. Use any leftover salad as ingredients in cooked dishes – like soups and stews – or throw it out.”
“Leafy greens can carry illness-causing bacteria that survive or grow in the fridge.”
Some other do’s and don’ts
Refrigerate
NZFS said it was best to refrigerate or freeze leftovers as soon “as possible or within two hours of cooking”.
This was especially important during summer when the weather was hotter, as food would not stay safe for as long.
Divide large portions up
Large portions of hot food should be divided into smaller containers or a shallow tray to help it cool quickly and evenly, and to stop harmful bacteria from growing to levels that could make you sick.
Leftovers should also be stored in a covered container in the fridge, not simply on a plate or bowl.
Reheat until piping hot
NZFS said leftovers should be reheated until they are piping hot (over 75C).
“Warm doesn’t kill bacteria. Hot does,” it said.
Defrost frozen leftovers in the fridge or microwave, as leaving meals on a bench top to defrost would allow harmful bacteria to grow.
The big one: “Don’t reheat leftovers more than once.”
The use-by vs best before debate
Arbuckle said if a food was past its use-by date the NZFS advice was to “throw it away as it’s not safe to eat”.
“But if it’s past its best-before and it smells and looks OK, it probably is. Check it, sniff it, taste it – don’t waste it,” he said.
As always, the main advice remained: “When in doubt, throw it out,” it said.
