Why should we boil leftover food before storing it in the refrigerator?

Vietnamese people often have the habit of saving, so cooked food that is not eaten up is often stored in the refrigerator for the next day instead of being thrown away, which is a huge waste. However, according to nutrition experts, after eating, leftover food is contaminated with bacteria, so before storing it in the refrigerator, it needs to be boiled again to kill bacteria. Only then can the growth of bacteria be limited and the food can be kept longer and better. However, this habit is not popular. After eating, people often put leftover food directly into the refrigerator, making the food susceptible to bacteria, affecting their health.

How to store food in the refrigerator:

- For cooked food

For cooked food, let it cool (about 2 hours) before putting it in a food container, cover it tightly and place it at a temperature of 2 - 4 degrees Celsius in the refrigerator compartment. If you put hot food in the refrigerator, it will easily increase the temperature and affect other foods as well as make the compressor work harder, affecting the life of the refrigerator.

The time to use cooked food should take place within about 3 days and you can divide the amount of food before storing to make it more convenient to use.

- Safe food packaging

Safe food packaging is also one of the ways to help you maintain the freshness of food. Specifically, you need to classify and prepare food as Dien may XANH instructed above.

After that, you should make sure your hands are clean and only use clean (new) bags before putting food in and sealing it.

Finally, you should store fresh food (such as meat, fish, seafood) in the soft freezer compartment of the refrigerator if you plan to use it for 1-3 days because this is a compartment designed specifically with a stable temperature and separate from other foods inside the refrigerator's cool compartment.

In addition, you can also put fresh food in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator for a longer storage time of up to several months.

- Do not put too many things in the refrigerator

Putting too many things in the refrigerator will affect the cold air circulation, causing the food to be cooled unevenly. This is also the reason why food is easily spoiled and deteriorated due to insufficient coldness.

- Set the appropriate temperature to preserve each type of food

When you want to preserve food, you should classify them because each food group is preserved at the appropriate temperature, for vegetables are usually preserved in the refrigerator compartment from 1 - 4 degrees Celsius.

While with fresh food such as seafood, meat and fish can be preserved at a temperature of 1 - 3 degrees Celsius (should be used within the day, the sooner the better) or in the freezer compartment -18 degrees Celsius (with a longer usage time, from 1 - 3 days). If you keep the temperature inappropriate, food and vegetables can easily spoil and can no longer be used, which is a waste.