Food Safety Fridge And Freezer Temps

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Food safety fridge and freezer temps.

While food safety law doesn t specifically state the required temperature of freezers industry best practice is 18 ºc or lower. It s vital to keep your freezer at a cold temperature as it stops bacteria from growing. Freezer burn is a food quality issue not a food safety issue. The refrigerator temperature should be 40 fahrenheit and the freezer should be 0 f.

If your fridge is looking full take out items that don t need to be chilled such as beer. The guidelines for freezer storage are for quality only frozen foods stored continuously at 0 f or below can be kept indefinitely. A freezer acts as a pause button food in a freezer won t deteriorate and most bacteria cannot grow in it. A full freezer will hold a safe temperature for approximately 48 hours 24 hours if it is half full and the door remains closed.

Never taste food to determine its safety. The perfect temperature range for a freezer is at or slightly below 0 f and never more than 2 f. The first rule of food storage in the home is to refrigerate or freeze perishables right away. It appears as grayish brown leathery spots on frozen food.

Use this chart as a general guide. 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. 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. Check both fridge and freezer periodically with a refrigerator freezer thermometer.

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. It also ensures that every part of the fridge remains at an acceptable temperature. Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 f or below however its quality may suffer. 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.

A refrigerator thermometer may also be used to measure the freezer temperature which should be 0 f or 18 c. The short time limits for home refrigerated foods will help keep them from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Follow the guidelines below for storing food in the refrigerator and freezer.