The takeaway meals you should never reheat
Poultry is the most common cause of food poisoning
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When it comes to ordering a takeaway, our eyes are often larger than our stomachs, so it's likely there will be leftovers no matter how hungry we felt.
No one likes the feeling of throwing out perfectly decent chicken Madras when it could be the perfect meal next day.
However, if not cooked correctly, these delicious meals could cause a serious case of food poisoning.
The Food Standards Agency estimates the overall number of food poisoning related cases to be around 1 million per year.
"This is because in such cases not everyone visits the doctor or A&E, or if they do, samples aren’t always taken and tested," they explain.
In research published by the FSA, it was found that poultry was the food linked to the most cases of food poisoning, with an estimated 244,000 cases every year.
Campylobacter was the most common pathogen, with about 280,000 cases every year.
The quality of the food probably won’t be improved by re-heating, but it is important to make sure the food is cooked thoroughly.
One food to look out for is rice, a spokesman from the FSA told The Independent:
"Takeaway rice should ideally be consumed immediately. This is because leftover rice, especially egg fried rice or cooked savoury rice is often associated with the bacteria Bacillus Cereus, which can cause food poisoning."
The FSA spokesman suggested an alternative: To allow the rice to cool after consumption and store in the fridge, and only reheating once in order to avoid any risk of food poisoning.
"If takeaway food is frozen, the food should be fully reheated within 24 hours of it being fully defrosted. We suggest always defrosting the food in the fridge," they added.
"Before eating, make sure the leftover food is reheated thoroughly by reaching a core temperature of 70˚C for 2 minutes or equivalent."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments