How long do leftovers last in the fridge?
Properly cooled cooked leftovers should be eaten within two days or frozen. Cooked rice has a shorter 24-hour window.
Cooked leftovers: within two days
Food Standards Agency guidance says leftovers that were cooked, cooled and put in the fridge properly should be eaten within 48 hours or frozen. Food Standards Scotland advises not keeping leftovers longer than two days.
Cooked rice: within 24 hours
Cooked rice is a special case. It should be cooled quickly, refrigerated and used within 24 hours. Do not apply the general leftover window to cooked rice.
Use the checker for your situation
The checker asks whether food was cooled and refrigerated promptly, then uses simple fridge-time choices. Its discard recommendations beyond an official storage window are conservative site policy, rather than a claim that an authority defines a minute-perfect cutoff.
Official guidance
Read Food Standards Agency leftover guidanceUse the checker for your situation
This page gives general UK guidance. Check your food for the situations Safe to Eat? currently covers.
Sources and scope
Last checked: 5 September 2026.
This resource is based on UK food-safety guidance and does not replace the checker’s personalised questions. Read how the checker works and see the official sources.