Don't Want Food Poisoning? Here's How NOT To Store Your Thanksgiving Leftovers.

The "magic number" to keep in mind, and more important tips.

There is usually an abundance of food left over at holiday meals, which is welcome if you’re a fan of turkey or ham, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. But the last thing you want to worry about is getting sick from it, which actually happens more often than you’d think.

When food is taken out of the oven, cooled, cut and served, it’s easy for plenty of time to pass by. “When food sits out for hours it can become a veritable breeding ground for harmful (and possibly deadly) bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter, E. coli and Salmonella ― making people violently ill,” said Mitzi Baum, the CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness, a national public health nonprofit advocating for a food safety culture change nationally.