Fridge Storage for Food Safety
I’m Linda Petterson, a Certified Food Safety Instructor/Proctor with ServSafe of the National Restaurant Association and with Always Food Safe. Follow these food storage rules to keep you safe:
Keep your refrigerator at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
When it comes to proper food storage order, shelves should be ordered from lowest cooking temperature to highest, going down. Here’s what should be kept on each shelf:
Top Shelf: Ready-to-Eat
Any food that will be served without being cooked first
Second Shelf: 135 degrees Fahrenheit:
Any food that will be hot held that is not in other categories
Third Shelf: 145 degrees Fahrenheit
Whole seafood; whole cuts of beef, pork, veal, lamb; roasts; and eggs that will be served immediately
Fourth Shelf: 155 degrees Fahrenheit
Ground, injected, marinated, or tenderized meats; and eggs that will be hot held
Bottom Shelf: 165 degrees Fahrenheit
All poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, fowl); stuffing made with foods that require temperature control; and dishes with previously cooked foods like casseroles
