5 Tips of food storage at refrigerator

The storage of food in refrigerator had been a common practice to prolong the food freshness. However, there are a few things we should always take notes so that the food preservation is done efficiently. The followings are the important tips for your reference.

Tips #1

After purchasing food, do light cleaning, cut into suitable small pieces (if the incoming raw food is in big sizes, such as meat, fish and chicken) and keep the food into a clean and suitable airtight container. Small pieces of food will ease the process of cooling. Meat, chicken, fish and other high risk food should be kept at freezer area nicely. Put all food in order and do not put too close for one another so that all portion of these high risk food can be frozen thoroughly. Too much food in the refrigerator will block the cooling units, resulting the cooling is not efficiently done. Cool air should be circulating in the whole refrigerator. Store fruits and vegetables susceptible to drying out in perforated or unsealed plastic bags to maintain a moist environment yet still allow air to circulate.

Tips #2

It is advisable to label raw food, the food ingredient, leftover food etc as the food's name and the date of purchasing. For packaged food, refer to the expired date / Use-by date before use. Apply FIFO based on the date. With that, we can make sure to use the correct food (as we had labelled) in our food preparation / processing. And also, we could make sure to use only good quality food.

Tips #3

Every Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food should be put above the raw food to avoid cross-contamination. There are several parts of refrigerator that is for the storage of certain type of food. Always take out the RTE food from the refrigerator and consume not later than 2 days after cooking / open (packaged). There are also recommendations from food expert about the storing time of each food.

Tips #4

After we open can food, we should finish the food and do not put them back into the can and stored into refrigerator. After open milk cream can by can opener, pour the milk cream into a clean container and close it. The opened can could corrode and the residual metal of the can once open can leach into food, leaving a metallic taste.

Tips #5

Do checking the functions of the refrigerator oftenly. Make sure the temperature at every compartment are correct. Do not always open and close the refrigerator door to avoid the temperature of food increasing / the food is not cooled properly.

The above tips will helps us to preserve the food efficiently in the refrigerator. Only when the food is stored correctly, we could enjoy good quality and save food.

Credit: 

1. Sir Sazly Tulih
2. High Speed Training
3. Real Simple
4. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services