It happens to many of us that after ordering or cooking food, we have leftovers that need to be stored properly. However, expert Primrose Freestone strongly warned that some of these foods are highly risky over time and can endanger health. , if you are not careful enough, you can get food poisoning.
- Leftovers from some common foods can cause serious health problems over time.
- If you are not careful with storage, it can end up with food poisoning.
- Dr. Primrose Freestone pointed out what foods you should watch out for.
Renowned microbiologist from the University of Leicester she revealed that you have to be extra careful with certain foods to avoid health problems.
“Food poisoning results from the consumption of food that has been contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, fungi or viruses. Although most people know that this condition can be caused by poorly cooked foods or poor hygiene during their preparation, bad storage habits are also a common cause.,” she stated. So what foods should you watch out for?
Dr. Freestone emphasized that dried herbs and spices that people often sprinkle on pizza (such as basil or oregano) can be susceptible to microbial contamination.. “Even if these ingredients have been sterilized by high heat during baking, if left out of the oven for too long at room temperature, harmful microbes can quickly grow on them,” she explained. To avoid this, the remaining pizza must be stored in a resealable container and placed in the refrigerator no later than two hours after baking..
You should keep the pizza in the refrigerator if you are not going to eat it. (illustrative photo)
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Whether it’s fried or classic cooked rice, spores of Bacillus cereus – a common bacteria that causes severe food poisoning – can multiply unnoticed in its remains. “Although these pathogens are destroyed during cooking, their spores are heat resistant and can survive. They subsequently release toxins that can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea lasting up to 24 hours,” Freestone noted.
The expert therefore recommends that you put the remaining rice in the refrigerator no later than two hours after it has cooled down. “Even if you do it right, you only have 24 hours for safe consumption,” she added.
Even cooked chicken can pose a huge risk, as it is prone to spoilage quickly after cooling. “To be safe, as soon as you take the chicken out of the oven, everything you don’t plan to eat immediately should be covered after cooling down, put in the fridge and consumed within three days at the latest. At room temperature, the meat should remain for a maximum of two hours,” she concluded.
Even on chicken, bacteria can multiply quickly. (illustrative photo)
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According to Freestone, you should also be careful when storing open canned foods. “Until you open them, everything is perfectly fine. But then the rest of the contents must be properly sealed and transferred to another container to prevent contamination with dangerous bacteria. The length of storage directly depends on the type of food. Tomatoes last five to seven days in the fridge, while meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and various pastas can go bad in as little as three days“, concluded the expert.
