Now that a couple days have elapsed since Christmas, we’ve reached that point where extra caution needs to be used with whatever leftovers you may have stored after your holiday meal was complete. This is especially so if you have leftovers from Christmas Eve. Food safety will be essential in the coming days as the various members of your family reach into the fridge while lounging about the home, and you can protect those persons by enacting the tips included in a new report out of Reno, Nevada.
Having the appropriate container can go a long way. Rather than simply placing some tin foil atop a plate covered in food, you can get more shelf-life out of the item by dishing everything into a container with a sealable lid. This allows you to limit exposure to air that can foster the growth of bacterial contaminants.
You should also make sure that your refrigerator is sufficiently cold. If not, then food could go bad long before you expect it to. Using a thermometer, deduce whether or not the fridge is coming in at sub-40 degree temperatures. In this way, you can rest assured that food is staying appropriately cold.
Heat the food up to a sufficient degree. At no point should you let it warm up to room temperature. If an item is set out at room temperature for even a couple hours, it needs to be tossed. And if an additional day or two pass, throw items out. It’s best to err on the side of caution when it comes to foodborne illness prevention.