Scientists answer the age-old question of when do you toss out food.
To toss or not to toss. Exactly when leftovers become trash has fueled arguments of couples, roommates and co-workers since the dawn of the refrigeration.
Does moldy bread go in the trash, or just get a trim around the green spot? Can Sunday's leftovers be Friday's meal? What about that day-old ground beef?
Food science and safety experts have some tips at the link below.
One of the basic rules for storing food in the refrigerator is what the article calls the “rule of four:”
o more than four days at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees centigrade.
About 25 percent of the refrigerators in the country are operating at a temperature that can make food unsafe.
The article goes on to say:
We're using the refrigerator as a food safety device and most people have no clue, no idea what temperature it should be.
Forty degrees Fahrenheit buys people three days for safety with raw chicken and ground beef, three days with cuts of beef and lamb and four days for leftovers.
Allowing anything to go above the cold 40 degrees along the way from store to frying pan can make the difference between illness and safety.
Other actions that could put you at risk include:
Leaving groceries in a hot car for hours during other errands and taking a ‘doggy bag’ home from a restaurant and then go to a movie or shopping on the way home.
There is much m ore of the story here.
A picture of my cave
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