Whether cooking at home or eating out, it is inevitable that there will be leftovers, and if you want to "disc", your stomach is uncomfortable, and you are worried about unhealthy eating the next day.
There has been a debate about whether overnight meals are safe, whether overnight food can be eaten. Which ones can be eaten the next day? How to store inexhaustible food? Find out one by one today.
Source丨Pixabay
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Can I eat overnight food? Generally speaking, all overnight foods are collectively referred to as overnight meals or overnight dishes, but from a scientific point of view, whether it is overnight or from morning to evening, only food that exceeds 8-10 hours is an overnight dish.
Whether overnight dishes can be eaten does not depend on whether it is stored refrigerated or for a long time, but depends on whether it has deteriorated or produced harmful substances during storage.
In other words, there are two main problems of overnight food safety hazards: one is the reproduction of microorganisms, resulting in food deterioration; Second, the nitrite content increases during storage, which may lead to poisoning and the risk of cancer.
The air is full of microorganisms, and food exposed to the air will inevitably be used as a breeding ground by them. If left at room temperature for a long time, microorganisms have a suitable environment and temperature, reproduce quickly, and food is easy to spoil. However, as long as the unfinished food is put in the refrigerator in time, it can inhibit the growth of bacteria and greatly slow down the rate of deterioration.
Source丨Pixabay
Many people are more worried about the increased nitrite content produced by food left for a long time, which is not good for health. However, nitrite itself is not carcinogenic, it will react with protein decomposition products to produce carcinogenic nitrosamines, long-term consumption of large amounts of cancer risk.
However, food hazards cannot be toxicized regardless of dose, nitrite is widely found in various natural substances. In fact, a short time intake of a large amount of nitrite will cause acute poisoning, dizziness and vomiting, severe coma and even death. Whether it is meat, eggs or vegetables, the average content of nitrite is 3-5mg/kg.
The Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine said that the minimum toxic dose of oral nitrite for adults is about 300mg-500mg, and ingestion of 1-3g will lead to death. However, generally refrigerated overnight meals (excluding pickled foods) for up to 24 hours, the nitrite content will not exceed 10mg/kg, far from the toxic dose, as long as it does not deteriorate, occasionally eat overnight dishes is no problem.
In addition, nitrite is also an internationally recognized food preservative, added within the standard range, it will not cause harm to the body.
Source丨Baidu
However, it should be noted that in major festivals such as the Spring Festival, some families eat a dish for many days, the above instructions for overnight dishes are not applicable, the harm of overnight dishes must be based on proper storage, and the storage time should not be too long, in order to be ignored.
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Whether the overnight dish is deteriorated by scientific storage overnight dishes, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish in the naked eye and taste, and it is impossible to know how much nitrite content is. So, how to ensure the safety of overnight dishes? The key is storage. If stored improperly, it may also deteriorate in a short time.
The secondary consumption of overnight dishes depends on the following three aspects:
1. Storage time: In the environment of room temperature, the storage time of leftovers is recommended to be no more than 4 hours, and the high temperature weather is not more than 2 hours, and the longer the storage time, the easier it is to deteriorate. Because microorganisms have a strong reproductive ability at 20-30 ° C, the food is completely cooled and then stored in refrigeration, but it will breed more bacteria, as long as the leftovers are placed until there is residual temperature, it can be put into the refrigerator.
2. Storage method: if the food is done too much, it is best to put it in the fresh-keeping box before eating, such as storage after eating, a large number of bacteria will enter the food, it is best to put it in a clean fresh-keeping box or attach plastic wrap, separate from other foods to prevent flavoring; Secondly, raw and cooked foods need to be strictly separated to avoid the presence of parasites in raw foods and cause cross-infection. Refrigeration temperature should be 2-8 ° C, some food can be frozen.
Source丨Pexels
3. Secondary consumption method: the secondary consumption of overnight dishes must be heated and cooked thoroughly, of which the soup needs to be heated and boiled for more than 3 minutes, and the meat needs to reach 10 minutes to kill bacteria. As for some cold vegetables and marinade, it is not recommended to "overnight", try to eat a meal, really can't finish and reluctant to throw it away, although the taste will be greatly reduced, but it has to be heated until cooked before eating.
In general, as long as it is stored properly, the food will not deteriorate, and the nitrite produced will also cause poisoning with a very small probability, overnight meals can be eaten, but the taste of overnight meals is not as good as fresh food, and the nutritional value is also lost a lot, so it is still recommended to eat freshly made, it is not recommended to eat overnight dishes often.
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What foods are not recommended to be stored overnight? Refrigerators can protect overnight food from spoiling, but not all food is safe, and some foods are not suitable for overnight storage. Here's a look at what's going on:
1. There is an old saying in green leafy vegetables: "It is better to have meat leftover, not to be vegetarian". Compared with fruits, meat and eggs, the nitrate content of green leafy vegetables itself is relatively high, and more nitrite will be produced after cooking, which is not conducive to health. Coupled with overnight reheating of vegetables, the taste becomes worse. If it is a bean or tuber, it can be stored properly, but not for more than 8 hours.
Source丨Pexels
2. After a long time of stewing, the soup is rich in nutrients, which can be said to be a "greenhouse" of bacteria at room temperature, and it is easy to breed a large number of bacteria. Drink the remaining soup in a stainless steel or aluminum pot, easy to react to precipitate harmful substances, it is recommended to put the boiled soup alone to drink the amount of the day, the rest in glass or ceramic utensils, refrigerated or frozen.
3. Aquatic products and cold vegetables and seafood are rich in protein, which are easily decomposed by microorganisms after overnight, damaging the liver and kidneys of the human body. If it is pickled, you can take part of it and eat it as needed, reducing the mixing of chopsticks.
4. More and more people love to eat sterile "loose eggs", but this kind of half-cooked eggs are not really sterile, plus rich in nutrients, easy to cause a variety of bacterial infection, after eating gastrointestinal discomfort and other symptoms. If it is a fully cooked egg, it can be stored at low temperatures.
Source丨Pexels
Seeing this, I must have a deep understanding of food storage. The weather is hot, the food is easy to spoil, everyone should pay more attention to food safety, and the things that cannot be eaten should be put in the refrigerator as soon as possible and consumed as soon as possible~
Review expert: Wang Guoyi Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University
Source: WeChat public account "Digital Beijing Science Center" authorized reprint
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