Eli5: why do certain refrigerated products require us to consume all once opened? Why can’t we eat some and refrigerate it again to consumer it later?
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Temperature is the most important factor in bacterial growth. In the fridge it is slowed down, but not stopped. Also bacterial growth is exponential.
In the correct circumstance, under room temperature, highly perishable food (fruit, milk products, raw meat) can reach critical bacterial growth (aka spoil) in a few hours.
Even if the bacterial numbers are not critical when you put it back, due to the exponential growth, it could be enough to reach critical numbers very quickly, even with the slowed growth in the fridge.
That being said, it mostly depends on how long it is exposed to ambient temperatures. If you take a jar of yoghurt out of the fridge, scoop some out with a clean spoon and put the rest back immediately, it will still be edible for days.
If you eat directly out of the jar (introducing more bacteria) and leave the rest on the counter for half an hour where it gets to warm up to room temperature, outcome might be vastly different.
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