In the coming weeks, my family will embark upon our annual holiday shopping trip. This entails three generations of Holderbaum women piling into the suburban for a full day of shopping and at least one, if not two, meals out. These meals cause quite a debate among the women in my family. The financially savvy say to make sure we don’t waste those delicious (and expensive) leftovers, but the practical (and food safe) say lurking in those takeout containers is a micro world filled with danger.
The following questions help determine whether to ask for a doggie bag or leave it at the restaurant:
- What type of food is it?
- Foods that do not need time and temperature control to be safe, such as breads, pastries, cakes, and whole pieces of fruit, are safe to package and take home.
- Meats, poultry, fish, egg products, and soups, as well as cut fruits and vegetables present food safety concerns.
- Am I able to refrigerate foods quickly?
- Perishable takeout food should be refrigerated within 2 hours. On hot days (90ºF or above) this window is narrowed to 1 hour. These time frames include the time food sits on the plate at the restaurant.
- Even on cold days, the back seat or trunk of a car is not a suitable refrigerator unit. If food will be left in a vehicle for an extended period of time, bring a cooler wit
h ice. - If refrigeration or a cooler is not an option, leave it at the restaurant.
Keep food safe once it gets home:
- If necessary, place food in a leak-proof container suitable for leftovers.
- When ready to eat, reheat foods thoroughly to a temperature of 165 °F or until hot and steaming. Keep in mind that not all take-out containers are meant for reheating; the food may need to be transferred to a glass dish for heating.
- If reheating in the microwave oven, cover food and rotate it so it heats evenly. Allow stand time for more even heating.
While it is always fun to bring home as many unexpected deals as possible, food borne illness is not one unexpected surprises you want to find along the way. Keep yourself and your family food safe on your next take-out adventure.
