Food Storage

Food storage is a method of reducing food supply unpredictability in the face of natural, unavoidable variability. It allows food to be consumed over a period of time (usually weeks to months) following harvest rather than immediately. It is both a traditional domestic skill (mostly as root cellaring) and a vital industrial and commercial activity in the shape of food logistics. Food preservation, storage, and transportation, including timely delivery to customers, are critical to food security, particularly for the vast majority of people worldwide who rely on others to supply their food.

Food Storage Guidelines For Consumers

Purchase Fresh Food

By making purchases within the freshness dates specified by the food producer, you may give yourself and your family healthy, safe food. A "sell by date" is used to date meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and fresh bread products to indicate how long they can be exhibited for sale. Additionally, the "sell by date" permits appropriate use of the commodity after the purchase. Food should always be purchased by consumers before the "sell by date" passes. With a "best if used by" date, cereals, snack items, frozen dinners, and dry packaged meals may be identified. After this date, the products are not at their highest quality, although they can still be used safely for a short while. Other foods, like unbaked breads, are labelled with a "expiration" or "use by" date, indicating that the item shouldn't be consumed after that time. Don't buy any food that won't be consumed by that time. The freshness date, which can be found on food packaging, is a sign of the high calibre of the item.

The name of the factory where the food was produced, the lot number, and information such as the "use by date" or "best quality date" are all stamped on the bottom or top of each container of some items, such as canned foods. It's possible that the code number varies from one manufacturer to the next. For instance, food manufacturers may stamp the month and year (APR02) on top of the can to mark the "use by date." APR02 denotes that the item needs to be eaten by April 2002. The stamped code's first letter and number, which stand for the month and year, may also be used to denote "use by dates." If used by June 2002, F2 would mean that the product is of the highest quality. In order to find out "use by dates," customers can get in touch with the food maker directly. Many food producers offer a 1-800 hotline for customer inquiries. The quality of canned products typically lasts one year after the date of manufacturing before expiring.

Pick up frozen and chilled items from the grocery store shortly before you pay. Foods that have been refrigerated or frozen should be solid and cold, respectively, with no signs of melting. Food that needs to be chilled or frozen should be bagged together. Drive directly home after your grocery shopping so you may put food in the fridge or freezer. It's crucial to keep frozen and chilled food out of the 40°F to 140°F danger zone.

Proper Storage Extends Shelf-Life of Food

Food packaging, temperature, humidity, the food itself, and these factors all affect how long food will stay fresh. Food that has not been sterilised will eventually spoil as a result of the development of bacteria. If not kept at the right temperatures, foods including fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meats, poultry, eggs, and meats will quickly go bad. Dairy goods should be kept in the refrigerator between 34°F and 38°F, meats between 33°F and 36°F, and eggs between 33°F and 37°F for the best quality and safety. Ripe fresh fruits and vegetables should be kept between 35°F and 40°F. Always keep chilled food in a refrigerator at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In the refrigerator, place a thermometer, and check the temperature frequently. This is crucial in the sweltering summer months.

Store frozen items in freezer wrap or other gas- and moisture-proof material below 0°F. Foods that are frozen should be dated and labelled. If frozen goods are kept longer than the advised period of time, they may still be safe to eat, but their quality may suffer. Consumer overloading can prevent coolant from flowing freely throughout a freezer's interior. As a result, the freezer will be less effective in keeping the food below 0°F.

Food that has been exposed to extreme temperatures will quickly go bad, as shown by off flavours, off colours, and/or soft textures. For instance, ruined milk has an off-flavor, an acidic taste, and it may curdle, whereas spoiled fresh fruits and vegetables may have a soft texture and an unappealing hue. Meat, poultry, and fish that have slime on them have spoiled. As they develop, microbes use the food as a source of nutrients and may create acids. The ingestion of rotten food increases the chance of contracting a foodborne illness. Food can go bad without leaving a noticeable stench. Throw away any food that has spent more than two hours at room temperature. So, whenever in doubt, throw it away!

Practice FIFO to make sure food kept in the fridge, freezer, or pantry is eaten before it goes bad (First-In-First-Out). Place recently purchased products behind the currently available food when stocking food storage spaces. By limiting the amount of food that needs to be thrown out, this will help ensure that you are eating food before it goes bad or becomes spoiled. It will also help you save money. Place leftovers in shallow containers that have been cleaned and sanitised, then cover, label, and date. Usually, after 48 hours in the refrigerator, leftovers should be thrown away.

Dry food essentials like flour, crackers, cake mixes, seasonings, and canned foods should be kept below 85°F (ideally between 50°F and 70°F) in their original packaging or tightly packed airtight containers. Dry foods may draw moisture at humidity levels above 60%, resulting in caked and staled items. In the end, canned goods stored in humid environments may rust, leading to leaky cans. Canned foods that are rusty, leaky, severely dented, or swollen should be thrown away.

Always store food separately from nonfood things like paper goods, home cleansers, and pesticides for safety's sake. Chemical poisoning may occur if household cleaners or insecticides are used to clean food or dining utensils.

What To Do When The Power Goes Out

Minimize opening the refrigerator and freezer when the power is off at home. The insulation in refrigerators and freezers helps keep food cool. The coolness will be lost if the refrigerator or freezer door is opened frequently. Foods that are perishable in refrigerators (i.e., food derived from animals) should be thrown away after six hours. Block ice may lengthen the shelf life of foods kept in the refrigerator. While food kept in partially loaded freezers may only last one day, food kept in completely loaded freezers can keep for about two days. If there are ice crystals, frozen meals can be refrozen. Ice cream, pizza, and casseroles are exceptions. The frozen food must be cooked within 24 hours if it has totally thawed but is still chilly; otherwise, it can be refrozen. Quality, however, can suffer. Discard the thawed food if you're unsure of when it actually thawed in the freezer. To keep cold meals cold and frozen goods frozen, use dry ice. Avoid breathing the vapours or handling dry ice with bare hands.

Recommended Storage For Various Foods

Breads, Cereals, Flour and Rice

Bread should be consumed within 5 to 7 days and kept in its original packaging at room temperature. However, because mould growth is prevented when bread is stored in the refrigerator, it will last longer and might even be firmer. Bread kept in the freezer has a 2- to 3-month shelf life. Keep cream-style baked products using eggs, cream cheese, whipped cream, and/or custards in the refrigerator for no more than three days.

To keep out moisture and insects, cereals can be kept at room temperature in tightly closed containers. To prevent the natural oils in whole wheat flour from going rancid, it can be kept in the freezer or refrigerator.

Use within a year of storing raw white rice in airtight containers kept at room temperature. Due to the oil going rancid when stored at room temperature, brown and wild rice will have a reduced shelf life (6 months). Refrigeration can extend the shelf life of raw white and brown rice. Cooked rice can be kept in the freezer for six months or in the refrigerator for six to seven days.

Fresh Vegetables

Fresh veggies' shelf lives may be extended by removing air (oxygen) from the package, keeping them chilled at 40°F, and maintaining ideal humidity (95 to 100%). The majority of fresh veggies can be kept in the fridge for up to five days. Fresh leafy vegetables should always be wrapped or covered in moisture-proof bags to maintain product wetness and avoid wilting. Store squash, eggplant, rutabagas, and root vegetables including potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions in a cool, well-ventilated area between 50°F and 60°F. After being harvested, tomatoes continue to ripen, therefore they should be kept at room temperature. Before storing carrots, radishes, and beets in the refrigerator, remove the tops to prevent moisture loss and increase shelf life. Corn loses some of its flavour while being stored in the cold because of its high starch content. It is best to keep corn and peas in a vented container. Lettuce needs to be drained, rinsed under cold running water, wrapped in plastic bags, and stored in the refrigerator. Fresh veggies' quality and nutritional worth will be maintained with proper storage.

Processed Vegetables

Vegetables in cans can be kept for up to a year in a cold, dry place that is below 85°F (ideally, 50°F to 70°F). Vegetables in cans can still be eaten a year after opening. Overall quality and nutritional value, however, might have declined. Cans with severe dents, swelling, or rust should be thrown away.

Vegetables can be kept frozen for eight months at 0°F in the freezer. Since dehydrated veggies have a propensity to lose their flavour and colour, they should be kept in a cool, dry environment and used within six months. Before freezing home-prepared vegetables, they should be blanched. Freezing Fruits & Vegetables, VCE Publication 348-576, contains more information about food preservation at home.

Fresh Fruit

Generally speaking, to increase shelf life, store fresh fruit in the refrigerator or another cold environment. Using covered containers will help fresh fruit retain more moisture. Fresh fruit should always be kept in a separate compartment of the refrigerator because they can contaminate other items and pick up their flavours. Fresh produce should be rinsed under cold running water before eating to get rid of any bacteria, soil, or any pesticide residues. Fresh fruits and vegetables can be peeled and then thoroughly washed to remove contaminants.

Eaten within a month, ripe eating apples should be kept in the refrigerator on their own, apart from other foods. Within a few days, apples kept at room temperature will quickly soften. Prior to placing apples in the refrigerator, don't forget to remove any that are broken or rotten. Apples should not be washed before storage.

Pears and apricots that are still green should be allowed to mature before being refrigerated. These fruits have a 5-day shelf life in the refrigerator.

Unripe peaches can be allowed to mature at room temperature for two days before eating them. Ripe peaches should be kept in the refrigerator but eaten at room temperature.

Within five days of purchase, consume fresh grapes and plums that have been refrigerated. Grapes should be rinsed before eating and should be kept in the refrigerator away from other meals.

Strawberries that are ripe can be kept in the refrigerator for about three days without contact with other meals. Before eating, strawberries should be washed and de-stemmed.

Lemons, limes, and ripe oranges, among other citrus fruits, can be kept in the refrigerator for two weeks. At a slightly higher temperature of 50°F, grapefruit can be kept.

Honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and watermelon are just a few examples of melons that can ripen at room temperature for 2, 3, and 7 days, respectively. Ripe melons should be kept in the fridge.

Bananas and avocados should ripen for 3 to 5 days at room temperature. Unripe bananas should never be kept in the refrigerator since the cold will cause the bananas to quickly become dark.

Processed Fruit

Fruit and fruit juices in cans can be kept for a year in a cool, dry environment below 85°F (best between 50°F and 70°F). Similar to canned veggies, cans that are severely dented, bulging, rusted, or leaky should be thrown away. Because the product has lost its moisture, dried fruits have a lengthy shelf life. Dried fruits that have not been opened can be kept at room temperature for six months.

Dairy Products

Fluid milk has a shelf life of 8 to 20 days when kept in a refrigerator (40°F), depending on the date of manufacture and the storage conditions on the grocery store shelf. Milk is a highly perishable food that is also incredibly nutrient-dense. Never leave milk out at room temperature, and always keep it covered or closed in the refrigerator. It is not advisable to freeze milk since thawed milk readily separates and can take on unpleasant odours.

Dry milk can be kept for a year in airtight containers at cool temperatures (50°F to 60°F). Dry milk that has been opened, especially whole milk products, should be kept cool to minimise off tastes. Reconstituted milk should be handled similarly to fluid milk, and if not used right away, it should be refrigerated.

Sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in cans can be kept at room temperature for 12 to 23 months. Milk in a can should be refrigerated and consumed within 8 to 20 days.

Cheese, both natural and processed, should be refrigerated below 40°F and kept tightly wrapped in moisture-resistant wrappers. On hard natural cheese, surface mould growth can be scraped off with a clean knife and thrown away. To avoid moisture loss, rewrap cheese. Mold growth is a sign of food spoilage and should be removed from processed cheese, semi-soft cheese, and cottage cheese.

Keep commercial ice cream cold, below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Commercial ice cream has a two-month shelf life before the quality starts to deteriorate. Return opened ice cream right away to the freezer to avoid moisture loss and the formation of ice crystals. To prevent ice crystal development, keep ice cream in a freezer at a constant temperature.

Meats, Poultry, Fish, and Eggs

Due to their high levels of moisture and protein, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs are all very perishable and could be dangerous. Fresh slices of meat typically have spoilage bacteria on their surface that, after three days of refrigeration storage in oxygen-permeable packaging film, will multiply, form slime, and cause deterioration. Due to the production process and increased surface area of the product, ground meat products are more prone to spoiling. The bacteria in ground meats are widely dispersed and can multiply quickly in the presence of air. The lower shelf of the refrigerator should be utilised to keep ground meats and they should be consumed within 24 hours of purchase. Although bacterial development is slowed by refrigerator storage, the product will nevertheless eventually go bad.Ground beef should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature between 33°F and 36°F.

Bacterial growth is slowed down by freezing. Ground meat can be kept in the freezer for 3 to 4 months, while whole chunks of meat can be kept there for up to 12 months. Meats should be packaged in gas- and moisture-tight materials for maximum storage to avoid freezer burn.

Bacon and other cured meats should be kept in the refrigerator in their original packaging. When exposed to air, cured meats often start to go bad. Therefore, after opening a box of cured meats, rewrap it. The typical shelf life of cured meats is one week. The shelf life of meats and meat products is extended by vacuum packaging (absence of air) and modified atmospheric packaging (partially removal of air) (i.e. luncheon meats). Meats that have been gas-flushed and vacuum-packed have shelf lives of 14 days and 7 to 12 days, respectively.

After purchasing, poultry should be prepared right away or put in the freezer. For a year, poultry can be kept in the freezer (ideally, 0°F). You can defrost poultry in the microwave, refrigerator, or under cold running water. Cook poultry whole or in parts until the internal temperature reaches 170°F or 180°F, accordingly. Reheating leftovers to 165°F before serving them should be done within 3 days of storing them in the refrigerator. The refrigerator should only be used to retain poultry broth and gravy for no longer than two days. Before serving, reheat the food to a full boil (212°F).

Within one to two days, fresh fish, shrimp, and crab kept in the refrigerator (just above 32°F) should be consumed. Fresh fish should never be kept in water to prevent the leaching of nutrients, flavours, and colours. For three to six months at 0°F, frozen fresh, lean fish and seafood (but not shrimp) may be kept. At 0°F, shrimp can be kept for a year.

Eggs should be bought chilled and kept in their original carton in a refrigerator between 33°F and 37°F. Eggs kept in their original cartons are less likely to absorb flavours and aromas from other items kept in the refrigerator. The "pack date" printed on the carton of eggs should be used within 3 to 5 weeks (1 to 365 representing pack date day within the year). Egg yolks and whites that are leftover can be kept in the refrigerator under cover for 2 and 4 days, respectively. Egg yolks are covered in water. While pasteurised liquid eggs can be kept in the fridge for 10 days, hard-boiled eggs can only be kept there for a week. Pasteurized eggs and egg whites can both be kept for a year in the freezer. The freezer is not a place where shell eggs should be kept. For a year, dried eggs can be kept in the refrigerator in tightly closed containers.

Water

Due to thorough water treatment (filter, demineralization, and ozonation) and stringent environmental controls during manufacturing and packing, commercial bottled water has an extended shelf life of one to two years. Bottled water should be kept out of direct sunlight in a cool, dry location. Due to the growth of microorganisms during storage, household tap water has a short shelf life of just a few days. Therefore, people who intend to store water for a long time should buy bottled water. Commercial bottled water is governed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food. Consult VCE document 356-486, Buying Bottled Water, for more details on bottled water.

Recommended Food Storage Chart

The charts below offer a general recommendation for how long different food products should be preserved after purchase when kept in ideal storage conditions. When no time is specified in the chart, storage is typically not advised. Consumers should always buy fresh food and never subject food to temperature abuse for the best possible shelf life.

FAQs

Why is food storage important?

By preventing deterioration, proper food storage not only helps you get the most out of your food budget but also preserves the nutritional worth and quality of the goods you buy. Additionally, safe food storage can aid in preventing hazardous bacteria-caused foodborne illnesses.

What is the best way to store food long term?

All dry ingredients and supplies should be kept off the ground and away from any moisture sources in clean, dry, dark spaces. If drastic temperature and light exposure changes are avoided, food quality will last longer.

What material is not acceptable for a food storage container?

Food products must always be kept in containers made of food-grade materials. Food storage should not be done with trash bags or empty chemical containers.

What is most often the cause of food spoilage?

Various factors cause food spoilage, making items unsuitable for consumption. Light, oxygen, heat, humidity, temperature and spoilage bacteria can all affect both safety and quality of perishable foods. When subject to these factors, foods will gradually deteriorate.

What is dry storage?

The dry storage area of your business is where stocks of cereals, flour, rice, dried pasta, fruit and vegetables, tinned products and packaged foods are kept that do not require temperature control. The following practices are important for effective and safe dry storage in a food business.

How do you pack food for long term storage?

Open food boxes or cans carefully so that you can close them tightly after each use. Wrap cookies and crackers in plastic bags, and keep them in air-tight storage containers. Empty opened packages of sugar, dried fruits and nuts into screw-top jars or airtight food storage containers to protect them from pests.