Many people don’t know that to maintain quality preservation and energy efficiency our refrigerator temperature must be between 35-40F. Food is our most important health tool, so we need to properly care for it, and protect our families and ourselves from food-borne illnesses, the next graphic will serve you as a guide for adequate food storage and refrigeration.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away nearly 31.6 million tons of food every year, much of this may be because we don’t know how to store our food. It’s like throwing away money, every day. Storing fresh products is a little more complicated than you might think, so, here are some tips that will help you in the future to keep your vegetables and food at their optimal, freshest best:

•Punch holes in plastic storage bags, space products as far apart as the holes to help them breathe better.
•Keeps fruits and vegetables separated, storing them together can increase spoilage because of ethylene build-up in the fridge.
•Store herbs upright in a glass of water and cover with a plastic bag, you can do the same with asparagus.

Want to keep your celery fresh? When you get home from the market cut the root end from the celery and wash in cold tap water. Then fill your sink with very cold tap water and let the celery soak for up to an hour (depending on how hot your kitchen is), drain it and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. It will keep in your fridge all nice & crisp for about 10 days. That said, once the foil is ripped your “keep time” is decreased so be careful!

Source: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1103

Edited 7/30/14 SCD