Food storage for safety and quality Food storage for safety and quality Pat Kendall and Nancy Dimond Quick Facts Foods vary in the degree of temperature and amount of moisture they need to retain quality in storage. Stock only the kind and amount of food you can store properly to retain high quality and nutritive value. Use a thermometer to check that the refrigerator is at 35 to 40 degrees F and the freezer at 0 degrees F or below.
Introduction Use fresh, perishable foods soon after harvest or purchase.
If storage is necessary, it is important to maintain the proper temperature and humidity. Even under proper storage conditions, however, freshness and nutritive value can be lost if foods are stored too long. Signs of spoilage that make food unpalatable but not a bacterial hazard are the rancid odor and flavor of fats caused by oxidation, slime on the surface of meat, and the fermentation of fruit juices due to yeast growth. Off-odors in foods and a sour taste in bland foods are signals that can indicate dangerous bacterial spoilage. However, food can be high in bacteria count without such signals.