The key facts

  • Ready-made meals must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours, or more than an hour in hot weather
  • It is recommended to keep the refrigerator at no higher than +4 °C, storing cooked food separately from raw meat and fish
  • It is advised to reheat only the portion to be eaten, heating the dish until hot throughout its entire thickness

Two hours outside the refrigerator is the limit

Ready-made meals from the store must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours, and in hot weather the permissible time without cooling shrinks to one hour. This was stated by Yevgeny Khen, head of product development at Fabrika Yedy (Food Factory), in an interview with Gazeta.Ru. According to him, mistakes often begin on the way home from the store: the container is left in the car and then forgotten for a long time on the kitchen table — in warmth, microorganisms multiply faster. The same recommendations, the expert added, are given by Rospotrebnadzor. If food has spent more than the permissible time without cooling, it is already unsafe to eat, and one should not rely on its appearance or smell: dangerous microorganisms do not always change the color, taste, and aroma of the product.

Storage and reheating

In the refrigerator, Khen recommended maintaining a temperature no higher than +4 °C, unless the manufacturer has set different conditions. Ready-made meals should be kept separately from raw meat and fish, in sealed packaging or clean covered dishes. After the packaging is opened, the storage period may be shortened, so one should follow the label, including the manufacturer's instructions for an opened product. Salads, cream desserts, and cold meat and fish appetizers, the expert noted, require special attention. Before reheating, he advised separating out the portion to be eaten and leaving the rest in the refrigerator: the dish should become hot throughout its entire thickness, including the middle. When using a microwave, it is useful to stir the contents, and soups should be brought to a boil.

Context

The practical meaning of these recommendations is that they address two different risks: the time food spends in warmth and the quality of its reheating. Even a properly chilled dish can be spoiled if it is reheated whole several times and the leftovers are returned to the refrigerator — which is why the advice to cook in portions is about safety, not economy. The article follows Gazeta.Ru's recent publication on how to spend less time at the stove.