Don't forget it's food safety week next week

Eating leftovers can be a great way of making a meal go further but many of us aren't confident to know when food is safe to eat. These are our top tips to help you waste less and save more:

• If you are going to store leftovers in the fridge, cool them as quickly as possible (ideally within 90-120 minutes) cover them and eat them up within two days.
• If you are going to freeze them, cool them before putting them in your freezer. Once foods are in the freezer, they can be safely stored there forever – but the quality will deteriorate over time so it’s best to eat them within three months.
• Make sure you defrost leftovers properly before reheating. Defrost them in the fridge over night, or in the microwave if you intend to cook them straightaway. Eat leftovers within 24 hours of defrosting and do not refreeze. The only exception is if you are defrosting raw food, such as meat or poultry, once it’s cooked it can be refrozen.
• Cook leftovers until steaming hot throughout.
• Don’t reheat leftovers more than once.
• Check the ‘use by’ dates on the food in your fridge on a regular basis and be sure to use (eat, cook or freeze) food before its ‘use by’ to help you avoid throwing food away unnecessarily. Food can be frozen right up to it's use-by. Once food with a ‘use by’ date has been opened, follow any storage instructions such as ‘eat within 3 days of opening’.
• For more information on what different date labels mean check out our handy guide

So now you know how to safely make the most of your leftovers how about making a big fat moussaka this weekend, and freezing any leftovers for a tasty mid-week home made ready meal?

For more information on food safety week see our new feature and come back next week for some great new tips and recipes.

Emma

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