Rising heat raises alarm on leftovers
Print Edition
SHANGHAI residents need to be cautious about perishable leftovers as summer temperatures soar, according to one authority.
Gu Zhenhua, former deputy chief of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration and an expert on food safety, offered his suggestions recently on keeping leftovers safe.
Gu explained that eating food immediately after cooking is the healthiest way to prevent nitrite from accumulating in the food or in human bodies. People should also not leave food at room temperature for longer than two hours, especially during the rainy season.
Refrigeration is the best way to preserve freshly cooked food for future meals. Uncooked and cooked foods should be kept separate to prevent parasitic and bacterial contamination.
But which kinds of leftovers are safe to be refrigerated, and which are not? Cooked animal meat and root vegetables — such as potatoes and carrots — are the safest leftovers. After taking them out of the refrigerator, it’s best to reheat them for at least 30 seconds to kill lingering bacteria.
Vegetables with green leaves are the least nutritious leftovers. They tend to lose vitamins when they are heated. Additionally, nitrates from the green leaves might turn into nitrite. When consumed excessively, nitrite can convert to nitrosamine, a caricinogen.
Seafood is also highly perishable in the heat. Sometimes questionable smells and tastes in leftover seafood can be masked by soy sauce and other ingredients, according to Gu. Eating crabs, shrimp and fish that have spoiled can damage the liver and kidneys, explained the expert.
“The main problems with leftovers are the reproduction of microorganisms and the accumulation of nitrites, which cannot be eliminated,” said Gu. “Half-cooked eggs, braised foods and bean products lead to bacterial overproduction; cold dishes, tremella and other edible fungi often cause excess of nitrites.”
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