A photo of Leo Varadkar's meal prep has sparked debate.
The Tanaiste posted a picture on Instagram of more than 16 lunch boxes lined up in his fridge, which have no lids on them.
Minister Varadkar thanked his partner Matt for organising their meals for the week ahead.
Leo Varadkar is actually so brave for posting pictures of shocking food as often as he does pic.twitter.com/BgXOZh9vLF
— rory (@flatoutsure) October 17, 2022
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland replied to one concerned comment on Twitter about food storage.
"Not being funny but are all of these particular foods safe to prepare in advance like this? I’ve my doubts about some of the elements here
@FSAIinfo"
The FSAI says cooked or leftover food should be stored in the fridge within 2 hours of cooking and used within 2-3 days days.
"Storing batched cooked or leftover food safely will reduce the risk of possible food poisoning. By safely we mean that the food should be stored in the fridge (at between 0-5°C) or freezer (at -18°C or less)."
The authority also shared a link to their website which says, that after cooking food should be covered and stored in the fridge.
"Following cooking, food which will not be consumed immediately should be cooled as quickly as possible and refrigerated. After cooking, once the steam has evaporated from the food, it should be covered and stored in the fridge. Food should not be left out of the fridge to cool down completely. To speed up the cooling process large quantities of food, such as stews and roast joints of meat, should be portioned into smaller lots."
