How to Organise Your Fridge

Why you need it

Raw meat, poultry and fish can carry harmful bacteria, and juices dripping onto ready-to-eat food is a classic route for cross-contamination. Ready-to-eat food gets no further cooking to make it safe.

Keeping raw and ready-to-eat food apart is a key control in Safer Food, Better Business, and an environmental health officer may check how your fridges are arranged.

What it’s for

A shelf-by-shelf order for a shared fridge, with ready-to-eat food at the top and raw food below, plus covering food, leaving space for cold air and the 5°C operating target. It belongs on or beside each fridge.

How to use it

1. Print it on A4, put it in a wipe-clean sleeve and fix it on or next to the fridge door.
2. Use separate fridges for raw and ready-to-eat food if you can, and follow the shelf order if you cannot.
3. Keep food covered in closed containers, with raw food secure so it cannot drip.
4. Do not overload the fridge, keep the vents clear and record temperatures at your planned times.
5. Keep unwashed fruit and vegetables away from ready-to-eat food.