Preserving food became easier with the invention of refrigerators as food remained fresh for longer, and deep freezers ensured that even meat did not spoil for months. However, this can raise questions on whether storing food for such long periods is safe. Also, are we storing food the right way, and is the stored food good for consumption? Could there be hidden risks that we cannot see with our naked eye? Here are some basic safety and storage tips to help you ensure that the stored food is safe for consumption:

The 2-hour rule
Refrigerate perishables immediately, and remember that the food that needs to be refrigerated all the time should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. For example, dairy items, meat, eggs, and seafood should not be kept out for more than 2 hours. If possible, buy these items from a grocery store near your house so that you can put them in the refrigerator quickly. The same two-hour rule applies to cooked food, leftovers, and takeaways.

Sort your food
Sort your groceries and place them in categories of fresh food, cooked food, dry food, condiments, and meat. Once the sorting is done, an effective safety and storage tip is to wrap the food and place it on the right shelves in the refrigerator.

Know where a certain food item goes

• Top and middle shelf
  Ready-to-eat food, leftovers, cooked food, dairy, and packaged food should be neatly packed in individual containers. Never leave any of these exposed or unsealed. Also, fruits like berries can go on the top shelf as they perish faster, along with cut vegetables and salad veggies.
• Bottom shelf
  This is normally the coldest part of the refrigerator and is designed to store raw meat, poultry, cheese, fish, and hard vegetables like potatoes. Meat should be neatly wrapped, sealed, and kept at the bottom so that it does not drip or come into contact with other food items and contaminate them.
• Vegetable drawers
  Ideally, you do not need to wash vegetables before storing them, but if you see any dirt particles, wash and dry them thoroughly before storage. Pack each vegetable individually and avoid dumping all the vegetables together. A safety and storage tip for refrigerating herbs is to separate them, wrap them in muslin or towels, and stack them so that they do not dry.
• Freezer
  Apart from ice cream and microwave meals, you can store bread, cheese, ripe bananas, broth, nuts, flour, cookie dough, and such in your deep freezer.
• Doors
  Non-perishable items like wine, water, sauces, and dips and condiments can be stored in the door.

Ensure space
Do not overload the fridge and ensure that the cooling unit isn’t blocked as a lack of proper air circulation can contaminate food.

Maintain ideal temperature
Maintain the temperature between 32 and 40°F for the fridge and below 0° for the freezer compartment. A safety and storage tip for refrigerating specific food items that need lower temperatures is to store them in the coldest part of your fridge.

Keep it clean
Clean your refrigerator regularly and monitor the temperature. Also, move older items to the front so that you can see and use them before getting to the newer stock. This way, you avoid food wastage and also prevent bacteria formation in the food that has been lying in the fridge for long.