My sister, Megan, is the kind of person who meal-preps everything.
Every Sunday evening, she makes a giant bowl of tuna salad with tuna, mayonnaise, chopped celery, onion, and hard-boiled eggs. Then she stores it in a covered container and eats it for lunch all week.
I had never really thought about it until I stayed with her for a few days.
On Wednesday, she offered me some.
I passed.
By Thursday, she was still eating from the same bowl.
“That’s four days old,” I said.
She shrugged.
“It’s been refrigerated.”
Then Friday came.
She made another sandwich with it.
That was when I finally asked, “How long do you think tuna salad actually lasts?”
She laughed and said she usually keeps it for about a week as long as it smells fine.
I wasn’t convinced, so I checked food-safety recommendations.
Most guidance says prepared tuna salad should generally be refrigerated and eaten within about 3 to 4 days, especially when it contains mayonnaise, eggs, or other perishable ingredients.
And smell alone isn’t a reliable safety test.
I showed Megan what I found.
She stared at her Friday sandwich for a few seconds.
“So you’re saying I’ve been gambling with lunch?”
“Pretty much.”
She threw it away.
Now she makes smaller batches twice a week instead of one giant bowl.
And whenever I visit, I always ask one question before touching the tuna salad:
“What day did you make this?”
