Before refrigeration at home
- Be aware that management of your refrigerated food supply
starts when you are shopping.
- Buy only the best quality food. Bargains may have a reduced
shelf life. You only end up wasting money by throwing out spoiled
food.
- Meats, seafood, dairy products and prepared foods (salads,
quiches) should only ever be bought from a refrigerated
display.
- Don't buy swollen refrigerated food packages. Microbes have
grown and produced gas, indicating that they've been stored at warm
temperatures or that they are going off.
- Examine chilled products packed in transparent films for mould
growth.
- Buy refrigerated food last. Never leave chilled foods sitting
in the car for long periods.
- As soon as you get home read the storage instructions on
packaged foods. Then if necessary refrigerate them to avoid
reducing storage life.
- Avoid overbuying; remember refrigerated foods are perishable
and only have a limited shelf life.
This information is adapted from Food
Science Australia.
Keep in mind these general tips
- All perishable and cooked food needs to be stored in the
fridge. This will not only prevent the growth of food poisoning
bacteria, but it will reduce spoilage.
- Always store ready to eat food (food that is eaten raw or will
not be further cooked) above raw food. Store raw meats, fish and
poultry where it is coldest - the bottom shelf.
- Make sure raw meat juices don't drip onto other foods (they
might contain bacteria). If you have to store them above other
foods, put them in air-tight containers.
- Keep raw and cooked foods separated in the fridge.
- Cover any cooked or ready-to-eat foods stored in the fridge to
reduce the risk of cross contamination.
- Don't overcrowd food in your fridge. To cool food properly the
air must be able to circulate around the food.
- Cool cooked food until steam stops rising. Then place the food
directly into an air-tight container.
This information is adapted from
Food Safety Information Council.
Be aware of storage life of chilled foods
Store these in the coldest part of the refrigeration section of
your refrigerator. These food groups will generally keep for the
amount of time indicated below (but this depends on variables such
as their freshness at the time of purchase, fridge conditions
etc).
- Seafood: 3 days
- Crustaceans and molluscs: 2 days
- Meat: 3-5 days; minced meat 2-3 days; cured meat 2-3 weeks
- Poultry: 3 days
- Fruit juices: 7-14 days
- Milk: 5-7 days
- Cream: 5 days
- Cheese variable: (1-3 months); soft cheeses e.g. camembert,
brie 2-3 weeks; cottage, ricotta, cream cheeses 10 days
- Eggs: 3-6 weeks
- Butter: 8 weeks; margarine: variable (6 months)
This information is adapted from Food
Science Australia.