Do what feels right to you, or just what the entity says during the ritual.
In México, during “Día de Muertos” (Day of the Dead), the altars are filled with fruits, prepared foods (on dishes) or beverages in bottles and cups. They are left on the altar for a couple of days, and when the celebration is over, they are thrown away in the trash or somewhere else, never to be consumed by any living human, of course.
Just follow your instinct.