Food: How long can food be kept without refrigeration
Do you cook at room temperature and let your food cool? It is important to know how long food can be kept without refrigeration, especially in the summer when food breaks down faster.
The ABC.es portal emphasizes that bacterial growth occurs after two hours of food being left without refrigeration, so food cooked outside the refrigerator should be left outside for a maximum of two hours. If it’s very hot, up to an hour.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Many bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, are more likely to grow and multiply.
“Staphylococcus aureus produces enterotoxins that can cause gastroenteritis within half an hour to four hours,” says Philip Tierno, professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University School of Medicine. Gastroenteritis Symptoms are associated with food poisoning: cramping, vomiting, explosive diarrhea and, in severe cases, dehydration.
don’t trust his appearance
The danger with this bacteria is that you can’t tell if your food is infected; because it doesn’t produce an unpleasant smell or change in color.
Experts say reheating food in the microwave won’t kill it either, so leaving a pizza out, for example, and then reheating it before eating it only increases the risk.
Refrigeration is prevention
Cooked food should be stored in the refrigerator after cooling, at a temperature below 5°C. Or, to be on the safer side, store it in the refrigerator if you will be eating it in a few days.
Let cool before storing
If the food is hot, let it cool down and put it in the refrigerator. If the weather is not cold when you go to bed, you can put ice packs in the refrigerator, which saves energy without affecting other foods.