Food Safety Fridge And Freezer Temps

Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 f or below however its quality may suffer.

Food safety fridge and freezer temps.

Never taste food to determine its safety. Storing perishable foods and food ingredients in the fridge or freezer is primarily to prevent food poisoning or to slow down spoilage and loss of food quality. At 5 c or colder and at freezing temperatures many bacteria that cause food poisoning and food spoilage either don t grow or their growth may be slowed down. The perfect temperature range for a freezer is at or slightly below 0 f and never more than 2 f.

It can occur when food is not securely wrapped in air tight packaging and. Check both fridge and freezer periodically with a refrigerator freezer thermometer. While food safety law doesn t specifically state the required temperature of freezers industry best practice is 18 ºc or lower. The guidelines for freezer storage are for quality only frozen foods stored continuously at 0 f or below can be kept indefinitely.

It s vital to keep your freezer at a cold temperature as it stops bacteria from growing. This will make room for the items that do need to be chilled for safety reasons such as raw ready to eat and cooked food. A refrigerator thermometer may also be used to measure the freezer temperature which should be 0 f or 18 c. It also ensures that every part of the fridge remains at an acceptable temperature.

Adjust the freezer settings as necessary to get the temperature in a safe range after making adjustments to either the freezer or refrigerator check the thermometer s temperature readout after five hours repeating the adjustment process until the reading is in the ideal range. Use this chart as a general guide. A freezer acts as a pause button food in a freezer won t deteriorate and most bacteria cannot grow in it. Wrap tightly foods destined for the freezer.

The first rule of food storage in the home is to refrigerate or freeze perishables right away. Freezer burn is a food quality issue not a food safety issue. The short time limits for home refrigerated foods will help keep them from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. It appears as grayish brown leathery spots on frozen food.

Follow the guidelines below for storing food in the refrigerator and freezer. In addition to keeping the temperature in your fridge at 40 f you can take additional steps to make sure your refrigerated foods stay as safe as. If your fridge is looking full take out items that don t need to be chilled such as beer.