Chilling and Refrigerating Foods

At KES we often get questions from our volunteers regarding food storage, how long foods can be in the fridge and how long foods can be frozen.  Food safety is a priority of all our KES Clubs and we try our best to ensure that all volunteers are educated on this, but as with anything there are always things that we are unsure of.  Refrigerating and freezing foods is a very common topic of uncertainty with our volunteers and that is why they often reach out to us and ask.

Here are some guidelines when refrigerating and freezing foods that you may be serving in your KES Clubs:

• Refrigerate fresh fruits and vegetables that need refrigeration when you get home. This includes all pre-cut and ready-to-eat produce.
• Make sure your refrigerator is set at 4 °C (40 °F) or lower and your freezer at -18 °C (0 °F) or lower. This will keep your food out of the temperature danger zone between 4 °C (40 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) where bacteria can grow quickly.

Information retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-food-storage.html#a5

Janel Genge is a registered dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador