Proper food storage is crucial for maintaining food safety, reducing food waste, and saving money. Understanding the importance of food storage is crucial for college students, busy workers, and anyone preparing meals for the week, as it helps keep food fresh and prevent foodborne illnesses. 

Tips for Refrigerator Storage: 

1. Your refrigerator should be set to 40°F or below. This prevents pathogenic bacteria from multiplying in the danger zone (Internal Temperatures of Food).
2. All perishable foods should be refrigerated within two hours. However, if the room temperature is 90°F or above, then the food should be refrigerated after one hour. 
3. Have a power outage? Refrain from opening the refrigerator door at this time. The food in the refrigerator will remain safe for about 4 hours. 
4. The arrangement of your shelves also helps prevent food from spoiling.
   1. The top shelf of the refrigerator should contain drinks, produce, ready-to-eat foods, and leftovers from the night before. 
   2. The middle shelf should contain cheese, raw dairy, and eggs
   3. The bottom shelf should contain poultry, raw meat, and seafood. This prevents any drippings from these items from getting onto the foods below them. 

Time Limits: 

• Fresh eggs, in shells: 3-5 weeks for consumption 
• Ground meat, fish, poultry: 1-2 days for consumption 
• Pork, beef, veal, lamb: 3-5 days for consumption 
• Cooked leftovers: 3-4 days for consumption 

Freezer Tip: 

Storing food in the freezer is a great way to keep it for longer before it goes bad if you’re not going to eat it right away. Some examples of goods to store in the freezer include fruits and vegetables, baked goods, raw meat, cooked meat, and soups! 

Helpful Tools for Storage: 

There are many products out there that can make food storage easier and prevent food waste: 

• Glass food storage containers are easy to clean, dishwasher-safe, and useful for meal prepping and leftovers.
• Reusable silicone bags can replace disposable bags and can store your favorite snacks, as well as produce.
• Mason jars are great for meal prepping (overnight oats, salad dressings, dry goods), and it’s easy to identify what’s in them when stored in the fridge.
• Produce storage containers can improve airflow around the produce, reduce spoilage, and help extend the shelf life of certain products.
• Freezer-safe, silicone containers are easy for batch cooking, meal prepping, and storing soups and leftovers. Plus, you can safely reheat in the container!