Maybe you have been out on a night out with friends and want something to munch on, then you find a slice of pizza in the fridge. But, exactly how long is pizza good for in the fridge?
There are health precautions that you need to take when you eat leftover pizza slices. You will risk your overall health if you eat something out of the fridge without being careful about it.
For the most part, I would suggest that you order a fresh one from the nearest restaurant. However, nothing stops you from eating the pizza in the fridge as long as it is safe.
Many love eating cold pizza and although I do not like it, I understand the emotion behind it.
Aside from molds and obvious dirt on the pizza, few physical signs might say that the pizza is not safe to eat. However, you can measure it by time to know it is still good.
You also need to take certain steps before you can eat the pizza from your fridge. Reheating the pizza is simple, so you should always do that to keep it tasting good.
There are different opinions on how long the pizza can stay in the fridge and still be safe to eat. So we will finally clear this discussion-
How Long Should A Pizza Stay In The Fridge?
A cooked Pizza starts to gather bacteria when it cools down. Even when preparing the pizza, there are already some harmful bacteria acting up inside the pizza.
That is the reason, pizza is best when hot. Well, it also, tastes amazing when hot so you have two reasons now.
There are times when you have some leftover slices and instead of throwing them out you can put the pizza inside the fridge to delay the harmful effects that the bacteria brings into the food. However, once the pizza is out of the fridge and it warms up, bacteria returns.
Most people would say that the pizza dough can stay in the fridge for up to a week and it would still be good to eat. It is possible since you have not cooked the pizza yet and the dough is still rising.
However, you cannot do the same with a cooked pizza. No matter how long or how well you reheat it, there will be some threats to your health that you cannot avoid by reheating.
What Do The Experts Say?
Contrary to what most people believe, you can store pizza in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
This information came from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. That is why you should always keep in mind that just because your pizza looks good, it doesn’t mean that it is safe for consumption.
Three to four days is the recommended duration for most cooked foods. If stored for longer, there will be enough bacteria to ruin your food’s taste and health.
Compared to freezing the food, putting it in a cold environment such as the fridge will reduce the pizza slice’s life. So do not exceed the four-day rule of storing cooked food in the fridge.
The fridge should also be lower or equal to a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After 4 days, the food will start to spoil, which means that bacteria have started taking over the pizza.
Some would say that you can still eat the pizza on the fifth day. While it can still be safe to eat after reheating it properly, I would advise against eating a pizza that has is stored for over 4 days.
As long as the pizza is not showing any signs of food going bad, it would still be “okay” to eat. However, it means that it will not have the best quality but it is still safe(do it at your own risk, though).
With that, you need to make sure that you consume the pizza in your fridge as soon as possible. That way, you will avoid eating an off-tasting slice of pizzas and risking your health to bacteria and sickness.
How Can You Better Store The Pizza In The Fridge?
If you have no other choice and you want to keep the leftover pizza in your fridge, then there is nothing wrong with that. Just make sure to store it properly to prolong its freshness.
To keep the pizza fresh and safe to eat before storing it in the fridge, you need to tightly seal it. Do not leave the pizza in the box where it originally came from as it is very open.
Contaminants can easily penetrate the box, so place the pizza in another container. Better yet, wrap the slices of pizza with plastic wrap to seal it both from the inside and outside.
After wrapping the slices, put them in a plastic container or something that can be closed or sealed. Put the container in the fridge and make sure that the temperature is at 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep It Away From Other Food
Another tip that you can use to keep the pizza fresh in the fridge is to keep it away from other foods in the fridge. This will lessen the transfer of spoiled food contaminants into the pizza.
It is basic advice to not place the pizza or any cooked food beside something raw. Doing that will only lead to cross-contamination, which will make you sick.
So to keep the pizza fresh in the fridge, place it on a rack where there are no other foods exposed beside it. This will make the pizza better compared to the ones stored beside other foods.
What Is The Best Way To Reheat The Pizza?
After a bit of time in the fridge, you are now ready to eat your leftover pizza. But before you take a bite, you need to properly reheat it to kill the contaminants that might have gotten inside it.
Besides, who would want to eat a rock-hard, cold pizza, right? So turn ON the microwave or heat a skillet on your stove and then put the pizza on it for at least a couple of minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and then place the pizza in it for about 5 minutes. That way, the pizza would have heated all the way through.
Enjoy the pizza while hot, and do not store it in the fridge again!
Takeaway
Storing your leftover pizza in the fridge is not wrong, but you need to eat it as soon as possible. That way, the flavors would have stayed the same and there will be fewer contaminants in it.
As per the experts’ advice, do not let the pizza stay in the fridge for more than four days. You will be eating the pizza safely within that time and enjoy a worry-free snack.
Or you can order a fresh one from your favorite pizza place, better yet, cook one at home if you have the time!
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