Find out about COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, and Mayo Clinic patient and visitor updates.
Featured conditions Brain tumor, breast cancer, colon cancer, congenital heart disease, heart arrhythmia. See more conditions.
Featured conditions
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
It's probably safe to leave food in takeout containers. The key is to store food in a shallow container that can be sealed when the food has cooled. These practices help limit bacteria.
Here's another safety tip: Don't let prepared food sit out — in your car or on the counter — for more than two hours. If you're someplace hot, where the temperature is more than 90 F (32 C), reduce that time to one hour. Bacteria can grow rapidly in food that's unrefrigerated. And some bacteria make a poison (toxin) that can make you ill, hence the term "food poisoning."
If you don't plan on eating takeout food immediately, you have two choices. You can keep it hot — internal temperature of 140 F (60 C) or higher — in an ovenproof dish in a preheated oven. Or you can divide the food into smaller portions, place it in shallow containers and refrigerate. Plan to reheat the food to a temperature of 165 F (74 C) just before serving.
With
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press.