Even Ireland’s food safety authority weighed in on the picture.
Leo Varadkar has confirmed he does use lids and eat vegetables after a social media photo he posted showcasing his meal prep for the week sparked a big reaction online.
The original image was published on the Tánaiste’s official Instagram on Monday morning and showed 16 tubs in a fridge containing a variety of pre-cooked meals.
Crediting the organisation of the fridge’s contents to his partner Matt Barrett, Varadkar wrote: “Matt has the meal prep done for the week. Fair play!”
Leo Varadkar is actually so brave for posting pictures of shocking food as often as he does pic.twitter.com/BgXOZh9vLF
— rory (@HerbErflinger) October 17, 2022
However, despite being quite an innocuous post, the photo left a number of social media users with questions.
Some struggled to decipher what the foods in the boxes actually were, while others took issue with the lack of vegetables on display.
On top of this, people questioned if the meals would actually be appetising.
In fact, one Twitter user went one step further and actually tagged the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) in a Twitter comment about the Tánaiste’s photo which read:
“Not being funny but are all of these particular foods safe to prepare in advance like this? I’ve my doubts about some of the elements here.”
Hi Fionnan. 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. (1/2)
— FoodSafetyAuthority (@FSAIinfo) October 17, 2022
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. For more info see: https://t.co/0Cw8j5x92K. (2/2)
— FoodSafetyAuthority (@FSAIinfo) October 17, 2022
In response, the FSAI said that “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,” it added.
“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,” it also said, before providing a link to its website for more information.
Replying to the FSAI, the same Twitter user who posted the original question asked: “Lids or no lids?”.
To this, the Irish food safety authority responded: “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.”
Hi Fionnan. 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.
— FoodSafetyAuthority (@FSAIinfo) October 18, 2022
On Tuesday, meanwhile, Varadkar posted another photo to his Instagram which this time featured food boxes with lids attached, as well as some containing vegetables.
“I’m in trouble with Matt for not doing justice to his meal prep efforts with my photo,” the caption on the image read.
“For everyone asking, yes we do use lids and have vegetables. Sorry, Matt!”
Images via Instagram / Leo Varakdar
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