Food storage

Storing food properly is essential to making sure it's safe to eat.

Storing food in the fridge

Some food needs to be kept in the fridge to help stop bacteria from growing on it, such as food with a 'use by' date, cooked food and ready-to-eat food including desserts and cooked meats.

Use the following tips to help you store produce correctly in your fridge.

Keep your fridge set to 5°C or below
Use a fridge thermometer to check the temperature, rather than relying on the numbers on the dial
Store raw meat, poultry and fish in sealed containers on the bottom shelf of your fridge. This will stop them from touching or dripping onto other food and prevent germs from spreading
Keep ready-to-eat food, for example, dairy products, cooked meats, leftovers and other packaged goods, covered and stored above raw meat and poultry
Throw away food that has passed its 'use by' date
Clean the inside and outside of your fridge regularly
Make sure foods are wrapped or stored in sealed containers before putting them in the fridge
Store leftovers in sealed containers and eat within two to three days
Don't put hot food in the fridge straight away - let it cool first
Don't overload your fridge as this will prevent the cool air from circulating.

Storing food in the freezer

The freezer is a great tool for making sure you've always got some food in stock and for helping to avoid wasting food.

For safety, it's OK to freeze most raw or cooked foods providing you do the following things:

Freeze it before the 'use by' date
Follow any freezing or thawing instructions on the label
Thaw it in the fridge so that it doesn't get too warm. Or, if you intend to cook it as soon as it's defrosted, you could defrost it in a microwave
Try to use it within one to two days after it's been defrosted. It will go off in the same way as if it were fresh
Cook food until it's steaming hot all the way through.

Storing dry food, tins, jars and drinks

Many types of food don't need to be kept in the fridge to keep them safe to eat, for example dry foods such as rice, pasta and flour, many types of drinks, tinned foods, and unopened jars. But it's still important to take care how you store them.

Here are some tips:

Try to keep food in sealed bags or containers. This helps to keep them fresh and stops anything falling into the food by accident
Don't store food or drinks near cleaning products or other chemicals
Don't use old food containers to store household chemicals, and don't store food in containers that have been used for other purposes
Only reuse plastic water bottles if they're not damaged and you can clean them
Don't store food on the floor, because this can encourage mice, ants and other pests
Keep the storage area dry and not too warm
Remember that some types of food might need to be kept in the fridge once you've opened them. Follow any storage instructions on the label.

For further information visit the Eatwell website