Perishable foods should be refrigerated or frozen immediately. If you bring food from outside that needs to be refrigerated, refrigerate it as soon as you get home. For all foods that need to be refrigerated, follow the "two-hour rule": don't leave meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or other foods that need to be refrigerated at room temperature for more than two hours - only one hour if the room temperature is above 32 degrees Celsius. Only one hour if the room temperature is above 32 degrees Celsius. The same applies to leftovers from home or restaurants, as well as takeaway food. Also, when storing food in the fridge, be careful not to overcrowd it to leave enough room for air to circulate.
Keep your refrigerator at the right temperature. The temperature in the freezer should not be higher than 4°C and the freezer should be below -18°C. You should check the temperature of your home fridge regularly to see if it's the right temperature, and you can buy a thermometer for your fridge (it's not very expensive).
Read the storage instructions on food packages. There are many foods that are not meat, vegetables or dairy products but still need to be kept at low temperatures. If you find yourself not following the instructions for refrigeration, it's best to throw them out.
Ready-to-eat foods should be eaten as soon as possible. Refrigerated ready-to-eat foods, such as lunch meat, should be eaten as soon as possible. The longer they stay in the freezer, the greater the likelihood of food poisoning caused by Listeria, a bacterium that can grow in the refrigerator, especially if the freezer temperature is above 4 degrees Celsius.
Beware of spoiled food. Any food that doesn't look or smell right should be thrown away. Moldy food is likely to have gone bad, while food in the freezer could still be moldy. Food mold is not a major health threat, but it can affect the taste of the food. The safest thing to do is to throw away any moldy food.
Useful freezer tips
Pickle food in the freezer. If you marinate food at room temperature, bacteria are likely to multiply quickly. Also, don't use sauces used for marinades as dips if they haven't been boiled immediately.
Clean out your freezer regularly and wipe up any leaked soup residue. This slows the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and prevents bacteria from spreading from food to food through the juices that leak out of meats when they are thawed. Clean your freezer regularly.
Don't store food open. When freezing food, it's best to use covered containers or airtight food storage bags, and check leftovers daily for spoilage. Eggs are best kept in a box and on the inside of the refrigerator rather than by the door, where temperatures can be higher.
Check food shelf life. Discard foods that have expired. If you're not sure if it's expired, or if the food looks suspicious, throw it out too.
Useful tips for the freezer
Foods that have been handled correctly and frozen below -18°C remain safe. While most bacteria are not killed in a frozen environment, they are also unable to reproduce. Nonetheless, the longer food is stored in the freezer, the poorer its quality will become. This includes texture, aroma, taste, juiciness, color, and more. If you want to freeze leftovers, you need to use airtight containers. When you buy frozen food, please be careful to follow the cooking instructions on the package to ensure safety.
Frozen food does not reduce nutritional levels. The protein level of food remains virtually unchanged before and after freezing.
Frostbitten foods are still safe. Frostbite affects the quality of the food, but it does not affect the safety of the food. The texture of frostbitten areas of frozen food becomes dry, leather-like, and grayish-black. This can occur if the food is not wrapped tightly enough and leaks.
Check the temperature of your freezer and refrigerator regularly. Thermometers for refrigerators are available at department stores and supermarkets in the housewares counter. You can keep a thermometer in each of the freezer and refrigerator compartments at the front where it is easier to see. Check the temperature of your refrigerator regularly - at least once a week.
What to do if the power goes out
If the power goes out in your home, try not to open the refrigerator door. The freezer can stay cold for about four hours without opening the door. A freezer full of food can stay cold for about 48 hours without opening the door.
Tips for foods that don't need refrigeration
Check canned foods for damage. Damage to canned foods may include swelling, gas (liquid) leaks, perforations, ruptures, severe rusting, or distortion to the point where they can't be stacked on top of each other or opened with a can opener, among other things. If the surface of the can is sticky, it may be leaking liquid. If a newly purchased can is leaking, you should go to the store immediately and ask for a refund or exchange. Older cans that are leaking should be thrown away.
Don't put food like potatoes and onions under the kitchen sink. The pipes can contaminate food if they leak. Potatoes and onions should be kept in a cool, dry place.