How Long Should Leftovers Be Kept?

I was talking to my sister who lives in the great state of Louisiana (I love southern states) and she asked me what I thought was a general question, how long should you keep food in the refrigerator after it has been cooked.  Her asking me that question made me realize what I believe to be common knowledge may not be common knowledge to the general public.  I have decided to blog about leftovers and when they should be discarded.

First let us define what leftovers are; they are the uneaten edible remains which does not include food scraps, carcasses, and bones.  Leftovers also should not be adulterated (dirty, used or tampered with); normally adulterated food is food that has been served to someone else and then served again to you.  A good example of adulteration is a restaurant in my hometown Ocean Spring, Mississippi.  This restaurant would take the un-eaten coleslaw from the tables and dump it into a large container; the next day they would mix that container with freshly made coleslaw and re-serve it.  Needless to say this place has LONG been closed and will never re-open.  What is so ironic is this place was supposedly ‘high-class’ and exquisite that served the best coleslaw on the GulfCoast.  Anyway I digress…..

We have defined what leftovers are so what is the standard for keeping leftovers in the refrigerator before they should be discarded.  First when you finish preparing your meal and everyone has eaten you should promptly put the food away in the refrigerator in clean containers that can be covered.  Many people have a habit, especially if it is a cookout, to leave the food out all day.  Leaving food out for long periods of time at room or outside temperatures is the quickest way to loose weight because you probably will have diarrhea and vomiting for days. In brief this is when the food should be discarded: 

• If food is stored in a refrigerator 41°F or below the food can be kept for a maximum of 7 days; or
• If the food is stored in a refrigerator that ranges from 41°F to 45°F the maximum time to keep the food 4 days.

It is traditional that people take their leftovers from the refrigerator and create brand new dishes like casseroles, paella, and soups.  I always advise if you are going to re-work a food item make sure that it is in its safety parameters and when you create a new dish discard it after 24 hours (which is more stringent than the law requires) of creating that new dish.  The reason that I advise that the food be discarded after a 24 hour period because people normally do not keep track of how long a food item has been in the refrigerator; the best way to know is label and date the food item when you place it in the refrigerator.

Four days or seven days is the standard for keeping food in your refrigerator, but if you know that the food has been temperature abused or just does not seem right THROW IT OUT!!! Oh and by the way I received a comment stating I am scaring the public to market my business.  My only answer to that is ‘no’ I only deal in facts and knowledge is power and if you do not like my subject matter do not read it.  Obviously the person that made the comment has never eaten anywhere but at their own home, grows their own food and is not current on research and statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration, but thank you for your comment anyway.  As usual happy eating and feel free to join me August 28-29 at the AmtrakCommunity Center.