Students returning from Thanksgiving break with leftovers from their turkey dinners may want to take precautions if they want to be replenished and ready to jump into final-exam studies.
Janis Mena, a UF GatorWell Health Promotion Services nutritionist, said many students get sick within the first few days back at school due to unnoticed spoilage of holiday leftovers.
"A lot of times we push the limit with food storage and safety," Mena said.
Keith Schneider, a UF food science associate professor at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said that any leftovers in the refrigerator for four days or more should be thrown out.
Ashley Delgado, a UF public relations junior, said she felt the misery of food poisoning during finals week in fall 2006. Delgado said she waited a week to eat the leftovers her mom sent her after Thanksgiving last year.
She got food poisoning from spoiled turkey and was sick for days, she said.
Schneider said to keep his advice in mind before reheating those leftovers Mom sent.
"Just because it looks good and smells good," he said, "doesn't mean it's safe."
