If you’ve ever wondered what temperature you should have your fridge at, we’ve got you covered.
Refrigerators are found in almost every household in the US. In fact, in 2018 it was reported than almost 25 percent of American homes don’t have one, but two fridges.
While they are a staple in many homes, we don’t really know the ins and outs of the popular kitchen appliance.
For example, I was today years old when I discovered that the warmest part of your fridge is the door.
Expert in all things do with cleaning and households Lynsey Crombie explained on This Morning back in October: “Not many people know that your bottom self [of your fridge] is your coldest shelf, so this is where you want your raw meats.”
“Your deli meats and your cheeses should go on the top shelf because it’s a bit warmer there,” she went on.
Lynsey continued to explain that the warmest part of the fridge is the door and, with this in mind, you shouldn’t store milk there. Instead, you should put already-opened sauces and that kind of thing in the fridge door and keep the milk in the coldest part.
Away from different parts of the fridge and the foods you shouldn’t put there, there’s one temperature you should be setting your fridge thermostat at – 5°C (41°F), says the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The FSA also urges that people check the temperature at least once a week to make sure it’s at the correct setting.
Speaking ahead of the holidays, Robin May, Chief Scientific Advisor at the FSA said of festive food that’s kept in the fridge in particular, as per Mail Online: “Don’t be a turkey – our new data shows us that people are taking some unnecessary and avoidable risks in the way they cook, prepare and store food.”
One of these risks is leaving leftovers outside of the fridge for too long. According to the FSA’s official guidance, food should only be kept out of the fridge for a maximum of four hours at a time.
Findings by the agency revealed that nearly half of people are likely to leave food out after serving and eat it a few hours later, increasing their chances of food-borne illnesses.
It was also discovered that 27 percent of people store refrigerated food in cool but non-refrigerated places, such as a garage or porch, due to lack of fridge space.
As well as ensuring that chilled food is properly stored, the FSA warned that people should check use-by dates on their festive foods to ensure that they’re still safe to eat.
