After the Spring Festival, everyone will always prepare a large table of dishes, lively and lively.
But there are too many dishes, always can't finish eating, in order not to waste, and then leave to continue to eat the next day.
Will such an "overnight meal" have any impact on our health?
Today, Zhimei came to say!
There is a saying on the Internet:
"Overnight dishes have nitrites, and the risk of stomach cancer is 3.6 times higher!"
Rumors
This statement is not accurate, and there is no professional data to support it.
First, nitrites themselves are not carcinogenic, and the "nitrosamines" formed by reacting with the decomposition products of proteins under the action of stomach acid are carcinogenic [1].
Secondly, overnight dishes are indeed more risky than fresh dishes, but if the food itself is clean, and refrigerated in time and eaten as soon as possible, the intake of nitrite generally does not pose a carcinogenic risk.
If you are worried, you can take a look at the 30 dishes tested by the Ningbo Food Inspection Institute in 2019:
Nitrite content changes over 24 hours over a 30-course course
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(Source: Zhejiang Network Radio and Television Station)
This table looks quite scary, in fact, many home-cooked dishes at 4 °C (simulating refrigerator refrigeration area) and 25 °C (simulated room temperature) and different times, measured nitrite content (mg/kg).
Based on this table, we can find:
Refrigerated for 24 hours at 4 °C, the nitrite content in overnight dishes is basically unchanged, and there is no risk of excessive nitrite and poisoning in overnight dishes;
After 12 hours at 25 °C, vegetable-containing dishes will produce nitrites;
Vegetable-containing dishes containing vegetables were significantly increased (> 100mg/kg) for 24 hours at 25 °C, exceeding the residue limit of 20mg/kg of pickled vegetables specified in the National Food Safety Standards[2], and there was a food safety risk of exceeding the nitrite standard.
Pure meat dishes do not produce much nitrite.
Therefore, if you want to eat overnight dishes, including dishes cooked at noon, be sure to encapsulate while hot and refrigerate quickly at 4 °C or below, preferably for no more than 3 days [3,4].
Even if it is a meat dish, it is recommended to eat it within 2-3 days.
Compared with the south, the northern dishes are generally relatively large, often using potted vegetables, not to mention the New Year's day, the portion must be arranged clearly.
Many people often stew a large pot of meat, ribs, and fish for two or three days.
If you can't finish eating, put it in the freezer, thaw it, and then add vegetables to it and cook it.
Is this situation problematic again?
First of all, if it is white cut chicken, crab shellfish and other seafood, semi-cooked eggs, etc., in order to taste fresh and tender, it may only be fresh when cooking.
They are more likely to be contaminated by bacteria when stored, and turning the heat will also affect the taste, try not to leave anything left, how much to eat and how much to do.
And fully cooked meat, if you can refrigerate the food as soon as possible, keep it at 4 ° C or below, eat it within 2-3 days, do not repeatedly thaw, and ensure that it is thoroughly heated when eating, which is generally no problem [5,6].
Leftover meat is not leftover vegetarian, cold dishes are not left
Meat dishes are generally safe, and seafood and semi-cooked eggs should not be left as much as possible;
Leafy greens are best eaten in one meal, and rhizome vegetables can be refrigerated for 1-2 days;
Don't stay cold dishes.
Rhizome vegetables
It is best to put the refrigerator while it is hot
At 5 ° C - 60 ° C, bacteria are easy to grow and multiply, which is the "dangerous temperature zone" of food.
(Source: Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong, China)
So, don't expose food to the air until room temperature and put it in the refrigerator.
Try to put it in the refrigerator when the hot dish is slightly cool to 60 ° C (equivalent to a little hot to the touch), do not exceed 2 hours, and do not exceed 1 hour at room temperature of 25 ° C.
Pre-packing
If you do too much, try to divide them out after they come out of the pot.
Larger portions of marinated meat, stewed meat, etc., it is recommended to divide into small portions refrigerated or frozen, how much to eat, how much to heat, to avoid repeated heating, reduce bacterial growth.
The sub-pack is "thin" and "wide"
Divide into small portions to cool, with a thin, shallow and wide food box or container, the cooling will be faster, but also pay attention to the container and plastic wrap clean.
Leaveovers are placed on the top and deepest parts of the refrigerator
Sealed leftovers are placed on the top floor of the refrigerator and deep inside the refrigerator (but not against the refrigerator wall), because it is easy to change the temperature near the refrigerator door because the refrigerator door is opened and closed.
Turning the heat ensures that the heat is transparent
(Source: Tumblr)
Large pieces of meat are recommended to be steamed or cooked for a long time, making sure to heat thoroughly.
Finally, Zhimei also has to remind everyone not to use "the taste has not changed" to judge whether leftovers can still be eaten.
Because after some bacteria "invade", it will not affect the appearance, smell and even taste of food for the time being, and it is easy to give people the illusion of "not bad".
There are also some foods that are inherently sour (such as sour soup), and they cannot taste the spoilage, even if they are boiled, they cannot eliminate the toxins produced by microorganisms, which is very dangerous.
(Source: CCTV)
If the leftovers have been left for a few days, don't keep eating them because you don't want to waste them.
Our health is more important than worrying about not eating food.
Perhaps a reluctance and fear of waste may cause damage to the body.
Reviewer
Lin Chen | a dietitian in the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Affiliated to Capital Medical University
bibliography
[1] EFSA. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in Food Chain on a request from the European Commission to perform a scientific risk assessment on nitrate in vegetables. The EFSA Journal 2008; 69: 1-79.Available from: URL:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Opinion/contam_ej_689_nitrate_en.pdf
[2] GB2762-2017 National Standard for Food Safety Limits of Contaminants in Food.
Lü Yuankai. Determination and Analysis of Nitrite Content in Overnight Vegetables[J]. Food Safety Herald, 2017(15):151-152.
Liu Binghua,Ma Xupan,Pu Xiaolong,Tao Xuemei,Yang Lin. Effects of disposal methods on nitrite content in dishes. Food Research and Development, 2014.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Refrigeration and Food Safety. Available from: URL:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/refrigeration#13
Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong, China. Food safety tips for refrigerated meat. https://www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_166_01.html
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Cold Food Storage Chart. Available from: URL:
https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/foodkeeper-app #
8] The National Health Service. How to store food and leftovers. Available from: URL:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-store-food-and-leftovers/
Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong, China. Food poisoning and other intestinal disorders. Available from: URL:
https://www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_pm_fpogd.html
[10]美国疾控中心. Four Steps to Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. Available from: URL: https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/keep-food-safe.html
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