Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 11 hrs ago
Dietitian warns common food storage mistakes can raise food poisoning risk
Home-cooked food can cause food poisoning if it is stored or reheated incorrectly.
The risk affects everyday foods, including milk, rice, lentils, curries and fresh fruit.
Bacteria can multiply in food left in warm conditions, even when it still looks and smells fine.
A dietitian warns against leaving meals out for too long, overcrowding the fridge and storing raw food alongside prepared food.
She advises refrigerating cooked food within two hours, or within one hour on an excessively hot day, and using shallow containers to help it cool quickly.
Keep the fridge at 5°C or below, and reheat food until it is steaming hot throughout, at least 74°C.
Avoid reheating food more than once.
Dietitian Dr Eileen Canday warned that common food storage mistakes can raise the risk of food poisoning.
Leaving cooked food out too long, overfilling the fridge and storing raw and prepared foods together are among the errors she identified.
Milk, rice, dal, curries and fresh fruit left unrefrigerated for more than two to three hours may be hazardous, she said.
Canday advised refrigerating cooked food within two hours, or within one hour on an excessively hot day.
She also recommended reheating food until it is steaming hot throughout, reaching at least 74°C.
- Who
- Dr Eileen Canday, head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital.
- What
- She outlined food storage mistakes that can increase food poisoning risk and gave storage and reheating advice.
- When
- The article was published on 2026-10-12.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Food left out too long or stored and reheated improperly can become unsafe as bacteria multiply.
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- Refrigerate cooked food
- Within two hours, or within one hour on an excessively hot day
- Refrigerator temperature
- 5°C or below
- Freezer temperature
- -19°C
- Safe reheating temperature
- At least 74°C
- Foods at risk
- Milk, rice, dal, curries and fresh fruits left unrefrigerated for more than 2 to 3 hours
What people are saying
Most food poisoning bacteria tend to grow at the rate of doubling their numbers every 20 minutes between 5C and 60C.
Milk is one of the first foods that become spoilt since the composition of milk helps the growth of bacteria. Rice, dal, curries, and fresh fruits that have been kept out of refrigeration can also be hazardous if left for more than 2 to 3 hours,
Sources
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