Pizza left out on the counter: Is it safe to eat? Here's what to know

Did you order pizza, chicken wings or some other grab-and-go selection and forget to put away the leftovers last night? You're probably not alone.

A food safety expert got to the bottom of a common predicament. 

Schindler is CEO and co-founder of PathSpot, a food safety system that detects pathogens on the hands of restaurant employees. The company is based in New York.

But at home, "you'll want to keep an eye on both time and temperature yourself."

All leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours of being cooked or served, Schindler said. They should be stored in shallow containers, which enable the food to cool quicker. 

"Keep hot foods above 140 degrees Fahrenheit and cold foods below 40 degrees - standards that modern monitoring systems track digitally," she said.

Schindler said she follows what she called "science-based guidelines" for food safety at her own home.

"Never keep leftovers in the refrigerator longer than three or four days, always reheat them to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and if there's any doubt about whether food is safe - throw it out," she said. 

"These standards have been developed through extensive research and real-world data collection, making them reliable even if they sometimes seem overly cautious."