When it comes to leftover takeaway two points are important to remember: keep it really cool, then really heat it up!

You can keep leftovers for up to four days in the refrigerator. If you won’t eat leftovers within four days, freeze them immediately. That’s because the greatest risk of bacterial contamination occurs after the food is cooked and allowed to cool. Freezing will stop any bacteria in its tracks.

Whatever you do, don’t leave leftovers on the kitchen bench uncovered for a day or two, before warming it up to eat it – it’s a sure fire way to make yourself ill.

Basics of food safety

Following basic principles of food safety will reduce the risk of food poisoning. These rules should be followed regardless of whether it’s a home-cooked meal, a picnic lunch, a sandwich at your desk or a takeaway meal.

Bacterial contamination happens when you mishandle food – whether you store it at the wrong temperature, re-heat it incorrectly, or the food is cross-contaminated (when cooked food is stored next to uncooked meat in the fridge).

Chances are a minute amount of bacteria will present in takeaway food when you buy it. By itself this is not unusual. But if you don’t store and reheat it properly, that small amount of bacteria will multiply and produce a toxin. When eaten, this irritates the stomach lining, causing pain, nausea and sickness.

It’s important to remember that toxins can survive the cooking process, even if the bacteria that produced them are killed off. So you need to make sure your leftovers don’t get a chance to produce a toxin.

Storing and Reheating 101

To minimise the risks of food poisoning, cover any leftovers immediately after eating and allow to cool slowly. Make sure you use food containers that are clean with tight covers. When it’s at room temperature, put it in the fridge within a couple of hours – if left out bacteria in the food can double every 20 minutes. If the weather’s warm, you’ll need to pop it in the fridge as soon as it’s at room temperature.

It’s important to reheat the food until it’s steaming hot – this will kill off any bacteria. If you’ve stored it in the fridge there won’t be any toxins either, so the food will be safe to eat.