The 'last day' to eat Christmas leftovers explained as chef reveals deadline

dailyrecord.co.uk:

With Christmas behind us, fridges across the UK are brimming with leftover stuffing, turkey, ham and veg.New research has shown that many of us are not storing the extra trimmings correctly.

One chef has revealed that our Christmas leftovers must be eaten to a specific deadline.According to chef Anna Williams, all extra food should be eaten within three to four days of storing and should be chucked if still in the fridge by New Year's Eve.

By this calculation, the absolute last day the festive dishes can be eaten is this Thursday.The professional is also warning home cooks not to put hot food into a cold fridge as doing this can spur bacteria growth.Anna has urged against over-packing the appliance and has shared some industry tips on how to safely store leftovers.She explained: "The important thing to remember is to make sure food is refrigerated within 2 hours to prevent bacteria growth.

But hot food should be brought down to room temperature to prevent your fridge over working and potentially spoiling other food items."The advice comes following research from appliance retailer AEG, which shows that a third of Brits don't know how to correctly store cooked foods, with those aged 16 to 24 being the worst culprits.More than two fifths of the age group think hot believe hot food can be immediately stored in the fridge, compared to just 13 per cent of those aged 55 and over."Store any leftovers in an airtight container, but make sure to place the lid on when the item is cold to prevent condensation and bacteria forming," Williams continued."Make sure to eat the leftovers within 3-4 days, so a good rule of thumb is before New Year's.