Most cases of food poisoning are caused by eating food which has been left out of the fridge for too long. Although food poisoning can happen at any time of the year, it is more common in the warmer summer months. This is why anyone cooking food at home or in a restaurant or shop should understand how to keep food safe. The simplest rule to remember is that food should be kept either piping hot or very cold. The reason for this is that very high or very low temperatures kill the germs that cause food poisoning.
Germs can soon grow on food which is left standing at room temperature.
If you are serving cold food, always serve it directly from the fridge. This applies particularly to seafoods, meat, poultry, vegetables,salads, rice salads, desserts and cakes containing cream or imitation cream. Yes, but it's best to store it in a way which enables the food to cool quickly in the fridge. You can do this by storing the food in a large shallow container or dividing it into smaller portions and refrigerating in small, shallow containers. If you have bought a takeaway chicken to eat later at home, it's best to remove it from its foil bag and cut it into smaller pieces before refrigerating.