A good fridge will keep your food safe and tasty if you treat it right.
Having a healthy home means doing what you can to keep your family well and safe.
One simple way to do that is to maintain and clean your refrigerator regularly.
It will save energy and money and reduce your family’s risk of food borne illness.
Smart fridge maintenance involves keeping the refrigerator temperature in the recommended range, properly organising your fridge food and cleaning it up.
Below are some tips for keeping your fridge food safe.
1 Avoid crowding
Allow enough space between items so that air can circulate and keep foods at the proper temperature.
2 Read labels
Follow the directions on food packaging and be sure to promptly refrigerate all foods that require it. Discard any food that may have been mistakenly left out of the fridge for too long.
3 Throw out tainted foods
If food has visible mould on it, a foul odour, or other signs of spoilage or if you just suspect it might have gone bad, discard it right away.
4 Separate high-risk foods
Keep the foods that are most likely to contaminate other foods, raw meat, poultry, and fish in plastic bags, bowls, or pans on the lowest shelf of your refrigerator, where drips will not contaminate produce or any other foods.
5 Eat fridge foods promptly
The longer foods are stored in your refrigerator, the more likely microorganisms will grow on them. So regularly go through the contents of your fridge and throw out any foods that are past their prime. Follow these use-by guidelines; for foods that can be frozen, freeze them as soon as you get them home if you’re not sure you will eat them within these time frames.
6 Watch the clock
Once out of the fridge, never let foods sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Eat them or toss them.
