To re-use or not to re-use; that is the question

  11/01/2018 10:38:15

Re-using left over food is perfectly safe as long as a few simple rules are adhered to.
 
Store correctly and ensure thorough re-heating
If you are going to re-heat cooked food then the most important thing to remember is to store the food properly beforehand and for no more than 2 days. The food must be cooled as quickly as possible and stored in the fridge on a different shelf to raw meat products. Reheat food until piping hot throughout and leftovers should not be reheated more than once.
 
Do not exceed use by dates
Lots of perishable foods have a use by date. Unlike best before which is a quality parameter, the use by date is a scientifically derived date which tells the consumer exactly how long the food is safe to eat for. Food must always be thrown away if it is passed its use by date.
 
Consume within the number of days after opening, as per the packaging  
Lots of products, such as cooked meats, are packaged under a protective environment. Once this product is opened and the product becomes exposed to air the product is no longer protected in this way. That is why some products have the instructions written on the back of the pack that the product must be consumed within a certain amount of days after opening. Again consuming after this number of days cannot ensure the product is safe even if it is within its use by date.
 
QIB Extra works closely with companies to scientifically verify the cooking processes and preservation regimes to ensure products are safe within the given shelf life.