How you organise your fridge could be the key to making your food last longer. That is the advice from a home insurance expert who had tips on how you can make your fridge work "smarter". Chris Beasley, from the home insurance company Smart Cover, says it can start with having a having an "effective" way of unloading your shopping, and making sure you don't overfill it.
He has also highlighted where the chilliest section of the fridge is and says that storing milk in the door compartment is not always the best place.
“Being organised means you know where to find things and are less likely to have food that you’ve forgotten about languishing at the back of your fridge," he told The Express.
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“This means less food waste which is good for the environment and it’s better for your pocket because you’re not buying things you already have."
Chris continued: “Another rule of thumb is to avoid overfilling your fridge. Stacking stuff on top of each other will prevent air circulating between your goods and cold air getting everywhere that it needs to.
"This means your fridge has to work harder and your food will go off quicker.”
He revealed the best spot for each product and shared the reason why fruit and vegetables have their own drawers.
Milk
Most people store their milk in the door of the fridge, but this might not be the best place to ensure it keeps fresh for longer, the expert warned.
He explained: “Door compartments are actually warmer than the rest of the fridge. If you find your milk isn’t lasting very long, try storing it in the main storage area instead.
“Condiments and sauces tend to have a longer shelf life and don’t need to be stored at a specific temperature in the fridge, so they will usually last okay in the door or on the top shelf.
“The same goes for bottled drinks. It makes them easier to store and more convenient to reach if they are in the door, too.”
Meat and fish
They should be stored in the coldest part of the fridge, and Chris says: "All fridges have warmer and colder sections because different foods actually store better at different temperatures.
"Meat and fish produce needs to be kept cold so you want it to be stored in the chilliest section of your fridge. You can use a thermometer to check this.
"Most people will find the coldest area is in the back of the fridge because when you open the door the warmer air hits the front first."
Fruit and veg
There are normally different compartments within your fridge. Chris says: “Fruit and veg should be stored in their dedicated compartments because this part of the fridge isn’t as dry as the rest, meaning it should keep everything fresher for longer.”
Eggs
Eggs should be kept in a fridge as they need a constant temperature. The fridge is the only place in the kitchen that you can guarantee this. If you can maintain a constant temperature elsewhere in the kitchen then you could keep the eggs there.
Mr Beasley said because eggs should be stored best at consistent temperatures, "which is why you might find they keep better on the top or middle shelf of your fridge”.
Leftovers
Leftovers need to be stored in a particular way to ensure they don’t spoil other items in the fridge.
Chris explained: “If you have cooked food that is suitable to store as leftovers, make sure you leave it to properly cool down beforehand.
“If you put hot or warm food in the fridge before it’s properly cooled this will increase the temperature in the rest of the fridge and could lead to other items spoiling quicker.”
