Everyone should understand how to refrigerate food correctly, whether it’s fruits, vegetables, or animal products. This ensures that the food consumed is fresh as eating stale food harms our body and causes health complications. Proper storage of food is essential for preventing food-borne illnesses, and the safety and storage tips for refrigerating food in this article will help you with just that.

Tips to store food safely

• Store raw food in sealed containers at the bottom of the fridge
• Don’t store open tins in the fridge as the food develops a metallic taste
• Check the refrigerator regularly and maintain the ideal temperature, which should be below 5°C
• Don’t pack the refrigerator with too much food and don’t block the vents
• Always store high-risk foods carefully

Foods in which bacteria can easily grow should be stored in airtight containers and should be checked regularly and consumed as soon as possible. These foods include:

• Homemade rice and pasta
• Ready-to-eat foods
• Ready-to-eat fruit salads
• Homemade custard, pastries, muffins, and cake

Maintain the proper temperature in the fridge
Maintaining an ideal temperature is an important safety and storage tip for refrigerating food correctly. It must be 4°C or less, and the deep freezer temperature should always be below -15°C. Always check with a thermometer and maintain the correct temperature.

Handling food safely
Using shallow containers is always a smart idea as items like stew or soup can be divided into small portions to store. Food items like meat must be cut into small portions for storage in these shallow containers.

Adjustments of shelves
Shelves should easily accommodate different packages and can be easily cleaned. If you find it difficult to store different containers, you can also adjust the placement of the shelves in the refrigerator. Additionally, always ensure that you place fruits on the lower shelf so that they stay fresh for longer.

Get rid of the smell
Commonly, many refrigerators build up a smell over time, which also harms the food stored. The best thing you can do is to discard the spoiled food and follow these steps to remove the smell:

• Unplug your refrigerator and empty it before cleaning. There should be no food while cleaning the fridge. Discard all contaminated or spoiled food to ensure that the food stored later goes into a clean refrigerator and doesn’t get spoiled.
• For cleaning, use one teaspoon of baking soda with one liter of warm water.
• Never leave bread unleavened.

Get rid of the smell of fish
One of the most important safety and storage tips for refrigerating food is to ensure that the fish purchased from the market is properly cut and that there are no bloodstains. After purchasing it, wash it properly to remove stains, if any, before refrigeration. It should be placed in the deep freezer to prevent it from spreading a smell and spoiling other food items.