storing leftover foods at room temperature on a countertop
Explanation:
It may seem obvious, but it never hurts to point out that when it comes to storing perishable foods, the most important rule of all is that they must be refrigerated! Foods kept at room temperature facilitate the proliferation of bacteria. Experts warn of a danger zone between 5ºC and 60ºC.
Therefore, most foods must be outside this range for safe storage to occur. Otherwise there will be proliferation of bacteria that produce toxins as they multiply. So the old maxim that “fire kills everything” no longer applies here.
