The Temperature Danger Zone

Are you aware of this? Protect yourself & your family from food poisoning. Check your refrigerator now!

One day, I found myself frequently throwing out precious food from the fridge, even before its expiration date. That funky odour coming from the raw meat as soon as I start removing the saran wrap! What a disappointing and furious moment! Meats are not cheap these days (were they ever?) especially the chicken breast – I hear Miyagi’s desperate meows in the back of my head. The grocery stores were the first (and last) to blame for it... selling such poor quality foods... or maybe secretly extending the “Best Before” dates.

When my wild imaginings subsided, suddenly, I realized something. It might have something to do with our fridge! I ran into the kitchen thinking that the fridge better not be broken. It’s only 2 years old! I stood in front of the fridge, staring at the display screen. And…O.M.G.

For some crazy reason, the fridge temperature was set at 6°C (43°F). Honestly, when I saw that number, I didn't really know how bad that was until I Googled it.

What is the Temperature Danger Zone?

Have you ever heard of the "temperature danger zone"? Well, now I have. (Thank god!) It’s a legit thing! This is a temperature you don't want your food to reach – where harmful bacteria can grow rapidly and make you sick from food poisoning. The temperature danger zone is between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C (140°F) as per the Health Canada's safety guidelines.

Go check your refrigerator now! The fridge temperature should be set at 4°C (40°F) or lower, and the freezer should be set at ‑18°C (0°F) or lower.

I immediately reset my fridge to 2°C and freezer to ‑20°C. Ever since then, no more wasted food! All meats and vegetables stayed intact, fresh and delicious, for as long as they were supposed to! What a relief. However, depending on the type of the fridge, some leafy vegetables and delicate fruits can freeze even when the temperature is above 0°C. So, keep an eye on that whenever you adjust the temperature.

It also turned out that there were some other things that I’d been missing out on! Are you?

Safely Storing Raw Meat in the Fridge

All this time, I did not know that raw meat is the bully in the fridge. Not only is it bad tempered (going bad quickly) but it also attacks others when it gets spoiled. We must treat raw meats very carefully!

Every fridge has a different layout, but most likely you have a vegetable/fruit compartment drawer or two, and a few shelves above it. It is recommended that you always store raw meat on the bottom shelf, sealed in a bag or in an air-tight container to avoid cross contamination. This way, the meat cannot sabotage (drip on) other “innocent” food.

Don’t Forget Food in the Freezer

I once thought that once food goes into the freezer, it’s good forever. Like our mighty Captain America emerging from the ice after a 70-year long nap. That was completely wrong. Food does go bad in the freezer over time. The chart below shows how long meat will last in the freezer when the temperature is set at ‑18°C or lower.

Most vegetables can last up to 1 year, except for tomatoes which will last only up to 2 months! In fact, we aren’t even supposed to put tomatoes in the fridge.

Meat or vegetables, it’s a great idea to write down your own “Best Before” dates on those Ziplock bags before storing them.

Grocery Shopping Tips

• Pick up cold items (raw meat, dairy, frozen foods) at the end of your shopping trip to keep them from warming up. (Quite tough for some of us to follow, I admit.)

• Find the freshest item available on the shelf by comparing "best before" dates. Obviously, pick the one with the expiry date furthest into the future.

• Do a gentle squeeze test on vegetables and fruits to check if they are too soft and ripe already. Make sure to look closer and check if there's any hint of mold growth. We’ve all seen that “cozy” white blanket spreading over raspberries the next day right after buying them, haven’t we?

Food is precious. Regardless of whether it’s meat or vegetable or fruit, tremendous time and energy is spent to produce it all over the world. So why don’t we do right by it?! For our own wellbeing, as well as our planet’s!

Information in this post is based on the safety guidelines by Health Canada. Link to their site is: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-food-storage.html