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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
David Kent

Leo Varadkar fridge pic prompts warning from FSAI as Tanaiste mocked for not doing one thing

A picture posted online by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has been widely mocked and even had the Food Safety Authority of Ireland step in to issue advice.

The Fine Gael leader is one of the more social media-savvy politicians and he took to his Instagram over the weekend to show off prepped meals in his fridge for the week ahead.

Visible were at least 16 plastic lunch boxes - but people quickly picked up on the fact that none of them had lids on.

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This was key, as there were a whole host of meats and dairy involved in the lunch boxes, seemingly leaving it a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Twitter user Rory shared a screengrab of Leo's story to his followers, which led some to question whether it was safe to do what the deputy leader of the country had done.

This was where the FSAI opted to intervene, replying to another user by saying: "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) within 2 hours of cooking and used within 2-3 days.

"Reheat the stored food to 70°C or higher at the core of the food. It should be very hot and steaming before it is served

"Generally we recommend that lids are used. But if there is no risk of cross-contamination from raw foods to cooked or ready to eat foods, then it should be safe."

On Tuesday, Leo provided a quick update.

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