I made fried rice a few days ago. It was good. I had leftovers the next day and it was better. I had leftover again a day after and it was even better (spices and flavours developed and it became more savoury). Presumably this will continue until it spoils, hence the title.
Confession. I thought of this while in the bath, not the shower.
If your fridge is warmer than 40°F, it’s not working properly. Commercially, prepared food is acceptable to use/sell for a week in the fridge before it has to be thrown out. Practically, this time is often longer, but a week is the safest bet.
My fridge literally has a setting for 6°C (42.8°F). I usually keep it at 4°C, which is still warmer than 40°F. I don’t know anyone who keeps their fridge colder than that.
4°C is 39.2°F, which, at least in the imperial system, is less than 40. And yeah, different governments have different regulatory standards, this is very very very common. Certainly the difference between 40° & 43° is less crucial than the difference between 40° & 100° and of course all foods (and the bacteria involved in their spoilage) are different (some things are considered safe up to 45°F for instance), but you have to plan for the worst-case scenario to be safest. And as I’ve said elsewhere, this is the industry standard, which is naturally (in America at least) driven by fear of liability litigation more than science, so it’s bound to be stricter than is perhaps normally necessary.