5 Wrong Ways to Store Food in Your Refrigerator Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

5 Ways You re Using Your Refrigerator All Wrong

Avoid these common mistakes so you ll keep food in your fridge safer and fresher

Getty Images If the kitchen is the heart of the home, the n the refrigerator should be considered the heart of the kitchen. Its co ol temperatures keep foods fresh and prevent harmful germs from quickly multiplying, allowing us to keep perishable foods safer and for longer amounts of time. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. But just how long foods stay safe and fresh in the fridge can depend on precisely where and how you store them. It turns out there's both an art and a science to organizing your refrigerator. Here are five common mistakes to avoid to make the best use of this indispensable appliance.

Mistake 1 Storing raw meat and poultry on the top shel ves

Put items that require lower cooking temperature s on the top shel ves and foods that require higher cooking temperature s, especially poultry, on the bottom shelf. The reason: If something leaks or spills it won’t contaminate food that may not get heated to a temperature hot enough to kill harmful germs, according to StateFoodSafety, a food safety training company. For example, the Fa hrenheit, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but it's only 145 degrees for seafood. Leftovers and casseroles should also be heated to 165 degrees, so store them on the bottom shelf, too.

Mistake 2 Keeping your eggs on the door shelf

Foods stored on the door shelves fluctuate in temperature more so than those kept inside the fridge , so avoid putting perishables there. Keep the door closed as much as possible, recommends the USDA , to prevent temperature drops. Also note that even when the door is closed, the temperature inside the refrigerator tends to be higher on the top shelf than the bottom shelf, so keep eggs on lower shelves where it's colder.

Mistake 3 Misusing the crisper drawers

Yes, there's a logic to which fruits and vegetables should go into which crisper drawers, since many are designed with different humidity levels to preserve freshness. Generally, produce that is thin -skinned should be stored at a higher -humidity level. Certain fruits and vegetables, especially those that release ethylene gas as they ripen, should be stored in low humidity. Here's a sampling, according to appliance makers KitchenAid and General Electric.

Try the FoodKeeper app

The USDA offers a free mobile app for and user s that provides information on how to best store over 400 food and beverage items. It also highlights cooking tips for different types of meats, shows the latest food recalls, and gives an option to log your purchases and receive notifications when your food is about to expire. You can search the app’s food catalog online . Foods best for high-humidity drawer: asparagus broccoli brussel s sproutscarrotscelery cherries cornlettuce and other leafy greens spinachtomatoes Foods best for low-humidity drawer: apples avocados grapesmelonsmushroomsoranges and tangerinespeaches and nectarines pearsraspberriesstrawberries is that foodborne germs can begin to multiply rapidly at temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees, a range the USDA calls the "danger zone." The FDA recommends keeping your fridge set to 40 degrees or below for this reason.

Mistake 5 Overpack ing the fridge

Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Cold air needs to circulate around refrigerated foods to keep them properly chilled, the FDA says. Avoid tightly stacking food containers or using any materials that prevent the air from flowing freely. Keep vents unobstructed. R outine refrigerator maintenance Make it a habit to routinely throw out foods that are no longer safe to eat. Keep in mind that a “use by” date indicates when the product may not have the best flavor or quality; it is not a food -safety date. (The exception is infant formula and some baby foods.) But, if a food looks, smells or tastes questionable, throw it out, says the FDA. Whenever something spills in the fridge, clean it up immediately with hot, soapy water and then rinse. Avoid solvent cleaners that may pass on a chemical taste to food. To fight odors , plac e an opened box of baking soda on a refrigerator shelf. The condenser coil should be cleaned regularly to remove dirt, lint or other debris. This will keep your refrigerator running efficiently, according to the USDA. The coil is typically located under the refrigerator behind the base grille or at the rear. Refer to your owner's manual or visit the manufacturer's website for more on cleaning the condenser coil. The Right Way to Freeze Fresh Food for Later More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS