Place raw meat and poultry in individual plastic bags to prevent meat from contaminating foods that will be eaten without further cooking. Shop for perishables last. Place perishables in the coolest part of your car during the trip home. Pack them in an insulated container with ice or ice pack if the time from store to home refrigerator is more than one hour. Food Storage To retain quality and nutritive value, stock only the kinds and amounts of food you can store properly.
Proper storage means maintaining a clean refrigerator and freezer.
Avoid overcrowding the refrigerator. To reduce dehydration and quality loss, use freezer wrap, freezer-quality plastic bags, or aluminum foil over commercial wrap on meat and poultry that will be stored in the freezer for more than two months. The following short but safe time limits will help keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. The time limits given for frozen foods are to maintain flavor and texture. It is still safe to eat frozen foods that have been stored longer.