Still sitting on Thanksgiving leftovers? You could be risking your health

If you still have Thanksgiving leftovers in the refrigerator, it’s probably time to toss them.

That’s according to Marianne Gravely, a meat and poultry food safety specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We usually say you can keep cooked leftovers for four days,” Gravely said when reached by phone on Monday. “Some of the other dishes might be different, but we say you can keep cooked food leftovers that long. Unless you freeze it, you don’t want to go past four days.”

When not frozen or refrigerated soon after food is prepared, Gravely said, the odds of bacteria growing on food items greatly increase.

“Food poisoning bacteria grow rapidly at room temperature or any temperature above 40 degrees,” Gravely said. “Bacteria also don’t affect taste or smell, so you won’t be able to detect them.”

When putting leftovers away, Gravely said, it’s important to use a shallow container to limit moisture accumulation – which can also aid bacteria growth – and to allow for the food in the container to cool at a quick rate.

Whether it’s turkey, mashed potatoes, a casserole or stuffing, Deirdre Schlunegger, CEO of the Chicago-based nonprofit Stop Foodborne Illness, agreed that it’s likely time to discard those leftovers from Thursday.

“(Monday) would be the last day for sure,” Schlunegger said. “This far out from Thanksgiving, there’s a real risk of bacteria, and it could be any number of different types of bacteria, including salmonella.”

Schlunegger said stored leftovers should always be packaged well and labeled to avoid confusion.

This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Still sitting on Thanksgiving leftovers? You could be risking your health."