4 foods you really shouldn’t risk eating the next day
There are plenty of foods that people happily eat the next day without a second thought. However, that trust is often misplaced. Leftovers can look, smell and taste fine while still harboring bacteria that can ruin your entire day or maybe your week.
Primrose Freestone, Associate Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Leicester, recently flagged a few of the biggest repeat offenders and shared them with Science Alert. Her main point is simple, but we all forget. The danger usually comes down to storage, timing and whether the food has been sitting long enough for bacteria to multiply.
1. Chicken
Chicken is going bad in a way that feels especially unfair since so many people are saving it for sandwiches, salads or lazy fridge meals the next day. But cooked chicken has a high water content, lots of nutrients and low acidity, creating a fairly hospitable environment for food poisoning bacteria.
Freestone warns that any chicken that shows blood in the juices should not be eaten at all, as it may mean it is undercooked. After cooking, leftovers should be covered, cooled and refrigerated as soon as possible, preferably within two hours. In the fridge, three days is about to be the limit.
2. Rice dishes
Rice is one of those foods that people underestimate because it seems so common, but that’s part of the problem. Uncooked rice may contain traces of Bacillus cereusand these spores can survive the cooking process. If the rice then stands for too long at room temperature, the bacteria can multiply and release toxins.
This applies to fried rice, risotto, burritos and anything else built around cooked rice. Freestone recommends cooling it quickly, covering it and getting it into the fridge as soon as possible. If stored, it must be eaten within 24 hours.
3. Pizza
Cold pizza has built quite a reputation for being a savior the next morning after a rough night. Unfortunately, bacteria don’t care at all. Toppings, cheese, sauce and even dried herbs can all pose a risk if the slices are left out too long after cooking or delivery.
Freestone says leftover pizza should be refrigerated within two hours, stored covered and eaten within two days. A slice that has been on the counter overnight may still look and smell perfectly normal, but it doesn’t.
4. Preserves
Canned foods feel safer than other leftovers because they start out sealed and durable. Once opened, however, they follow the same rules as everything else in your fridge. Air enters, contamination becomes possible, and time is on the bacteria’s side.
Freestone says that opened canned food should be covered and refrigerated. Acidic foods such as tomatoes can last five to seven days, while lower acidic foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and pasta should generally be eaten within three days. The can buys time. It does not buy immortality.
