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During Tet, every family's refrigerator tends to work more than usual due to a significant increase in food quantity, stored for many long days. So, how to preserve food for a long time and safely?
1. Properly preserve food for the upcoming Tet holiday
During Tet, every family's refrigerator tends to work more than usual due to a significant increase in food quantity, stored for many long days. So, how to preserve food for a long time and safely?
Methods for storing food in the Tet holiday refrigerator
Classifying food for preservation
Each type of food possesses distinct characteristics and requires different storage temperatures. Therefore, classifying food before placing it in the refrigerator is a crucial aspect that users should pay attention to.
To freeze and store meat or fresh seafood, users should place these types of food in the freezer compartment with an average temperature of about -18 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, bacteria cannot thrive.
Items like beverages, snacks, cosmetics, and cooked food should be kept in the chilled compartment with a temperature of around 0 degrees Celsius.
For perishable items like vegetables or fruits, the suitable temperature for preservation ranges from 0 to 4 degrees Celsius.
Careful and safe food packaging
Cross-contamination is the transfer of bacteria from a contaminated surface to a non-contaminated one. This phenomenon can occur in the refrigerator if users do not pack food carefully.
Fresh meats and seafood can be an ideal breeding ground for bacteria if not handled carefully before placing them in the refrigerator. Therefore, users should thoroughly wash and drain the meat and seafood before putting them into a sealed bag or container and then placing them in the fridge. Additionally, these types of food should be kept separate from other food items.
For vegetables and fruits, users should remove plastic bags from them immediately after purchase to allow air circulation. Wash the produce and let it drain completely before storing it in the refrigerator, as excess moisture can lead to mold and faster spoilage.
When it comes to milk, it is usually packaged in paper cartons. However, for fresh milk storage, plastic bottles are preferable to cartons because bacteria can thrive near the carton's spout and may enter the milk each time users pour it.
Users should also ensure to tightly wrap leftover food before placing it in the fridge. It's advisable to divide leftover food into small, shallow containers for quicker cooling, and users should wait for the food to cool before storing it in the refrigerator.
Pay attention to foods that should not be stored in the refrigerator
The refrigerator is an excellent place to store food, but there are exceptions. Some types of food should not be stored in the fridge, and users need to be mindful of these exceptions.
Firstly, rice. When storing rice in the refrigerator, Bacillus cereus bacteria can thrive, leading to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, and more can be stored at room temperature; refrigerating them tends to make them soft and rotten.
Tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and apples can be kept in the fridge but may impact their flavor.
Bakery items and starchy foods, when kept in the fridge, tend to quickly become dry and tough.
Especially with thawed frozen foods, bacteria can quickly invade once thawed. Therefore, thawed food should not be put back into the fridge; it needs to be prepared immediately. It's best for users to divide it into small portions suitable for each cooking session.
Organize the fridge systematically
Beyond keeping the fridge neat and clean, organizing it systematically helps users store food more effectively. Arrange food with cooked items on the upper shelf and raw items on the lower shelf; for perishable fresh food to be stored for an extended period, use the freezer compartment.
Furthermore, users can mark the expiry date on food containers or bags, place items nearing expiration towards the front for easy visibility, avoiding the scenario of overlooking food in the fridge for an extended period, leading to bacterial growth.
Users should refrain from storing an excessive amount of food in the fridge as it may exceed its capacity, resulting in uneven cooling and causing food to spoil.
While there are various methods to store food for longer and safer periods, users should avoid keeping food in the fridge for too long. Numerous studies indicate that meat and fish stored in the fridge for an extended period are more prone to degradation, reduced nutritional content, and the generation of harmful intermediates affecting consumers' health.
The freezing and thawing process leads to the loss of approximately one-third of the soluble fat in meat, with a substantial loss of essential nutrients. Some foods like vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and processed items such as sausages, smoked meat, pate, and hot dogs, when stored for an extended period in the fridge, can generate Nitrite levels when combined with amino acids in the food, forming Nitroamine, a substance harmful to consumers' health.
