It’s happened again. Our British friends at WRAP released another food waste study, this time on Reducing Waste Through the Chill Chain. (Here’s the abbreviated version.)
While their “chill chain” may be our cold one, the study is quite useful on either side of the Atlantic. It found that many folks’ refrigerator temperatures are often too warm (above the ideal 0 to 5 degrees C). In fact, the mean temperature was 7 degrees. That’s important, as a warm fridge will curtail a food’s shelf (and half-) life.
The study’s authors hope to prompt behavior change for the general public on this topic (via Love Food, Hate Waste). For instance, making individuals aware of the importance of keeping fridges at the right temperature. And encouraging them to use a cooler bag/box to bring items home on warm days.
The authors also hope to inspire fridge manufacturers to make temperature readings and controls more obvious for consumers. And they’d like these makers of “white goods,” along with grocers, to help spread the word on the ideal temperature (roughly 32 to 40 degrees F).
In addition, they’ve given you 95 pages of food temperature info to peruse the next time you’re just, you know, chillin.
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