Households in the UK throw away staggering amounts of food every day – 20 million slices of bread, 4.4 million potatoes and 3.1 million glasses of milk, to name but a few.
The latest data from the climate action charity Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) shows that we end up binning around 16% of the food we buy. That's around 4.5 million tonnes of edible food waste, costing on average £210 per person per year.
With certain fresh fruit and veg currently scarce due to poor harvests and high energy costs – and prices rising – making the most of what you buy and minimising waste is key.
Wasted food has a big environmental impact, too – not only the wasted resources used to produce food that then goes uneaten, but alsothe harmful greenhouse gases released by rotting food in landfill.
Simple changes in the way you store food at home can help to prolong its life, from separating incompatible foods to knowing what works best where.
1. Stock your fridge the right way
Temperatures vary in different parts of your fridge, so you need to store different foods in specific sections.
The top shelf is usually the warmest (unless you've got a freezer compartment up there), and is best for ready-to-eat foods such as cheese, yoghurts, dips such as houmous and desserts. Middle shelves are good for cooked meats, eggs, butter, milk, leftovers, ready meals and fruit, while the bottom is the coldest, and best for raw meat, poultry and fish.
If you have two fridge drawer compartments, use one for fruit and the other for vegetables. If you have only one, use it to store vegetables and place your fruit on the middle shelves. Don't store fruit and veg together, as some can make the other go off more quickly.
The door is one of the warmest areas, as regular opening and closing causes the temperature to fluctuate. Keep low-risk items such as condiments, jams, pickles and chutneys here, as well as water, juice and wine.
2. Check your fridge temperature setting
The best way to prolong the shelf life of your perishables is to make sure your fridge is set at the right temperature, between 0°C and 5°C.
A warmer fridge (above 8°C) leaves you at risk of harmful bacteria growing and speeding up the spoiling of your food.
Fridges have in-built thermometers, but they don't automatically set to the correct temperature – you need to do this manually.
Which? testing has found they're not always accurate. If you're not sure your fridge is working properly, it's worth investing in a cheap fridge thermometer (usually under £10) so you can check the temperature and adjust the settings if needed.
3. The surprising salad items that don’t belong in the fridge
While most foods last longer in the fridge, some are better off out of it.
Tomatoes last longer – and taste better – when they're kept out of the fridge. Cold temperatures change their texture and inhibit the enzymes that give them their flavour.
Cucumbers are also better off kept at room temperature, as the cold can turn the inside mushy. Likewise bananas, bread, onions and garlic. If refrigerated, bananas will turn black, while bread will dehydrate.
So, where possible, keep your bananas on the counter, your bread in a bag and your onions and garlic in a dark, dry cupboard.
4. The new rules on storing potatoes
For a long time, the official advice has been to store your potatoes in a cool, dark cupboard and not in the fridge, but the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently changed its advice.
Cold temperatures were thought to increase levels of acrylamide, a chemical produced when potatoes were subsequently cooked at high temperatures such as frying, roasting and baking and thought to be carcinogenic.
In lab studies, acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in rodents, but research hasn't found the same link in humans. And the FSA says its research now shows it's not only safe to store potatoes in the fridge, it also increases their shelf life.
The research showed that in the retail supply chain, potatoes are stored at below 6°C for months without issue, and the change in acrylamide levels when they were stored in fridges at home was negligible.
5. Watch out for ethylene-producing foods
Some foods will go off quicker if stored together.
Fruit produces ethylene, a gas that causes vegetables to over-ripen and spoil quicker.
Apples, bananas and melons are particular offenders. They produce ethylene, but are also sensitive to it. This means that not only do they cause other fruit to spoil, they also spoil more quickly if they're near other ethylene-producing fruit. Mushrooms also product ethylene, so are best not stuffed in your vegetable drawer.
Popping potatoes in the fridge rather than a dark cupboard could be handy, as it's also best to keep them away from onions and garlic, as gases from these veg will speed up sprouting in potatoes.
6. Make your leaves last longer
Bagged spinach and salad leaves are undeniably convenient, but have a short shelf life and are among the most wasted foods.
Which? members told us they extend the life of their bagged salad by adding a sheet of kitchen roll to the bag once it's opened and sealing it with a clip. This helps to absorb excess moisture.
Alternatively, remove the leaves from the bag, dry them and transfer them to an airtight container lined with kitchen roll.
7. Make the most of your freezer
Keep an eye on your perishables. If you have something approaching the end of its shelf life, you can usually pop it in the freezer.
Fresh meat, poultry and fish are good candidates, as are milk, cheese and leftovers.
Bread freezes well, too. If you rarely get through a whole loaf before it starts to go stale, you can freeze half as soon as you get it home, or freeze the lot and take out slices as and when you need them. They can go straight into the toaster without being defrosted first.
You can also chop fruit and veg that's turning and freeze it in either a raw or cooked state. This can be handy for chucking into soups or stews down the line.
Following a vegan, veggie or flexitarian diet? Make sure you're getting enough key nutrients8. Don't neglect dried goods
You might think you don't need to worry about dried foods such as pasta, grains, beans and spices, but there are some to watch out for, and ways to make them last longer.
Most will last for years if they're stored in cool, dark place and kept away from moisture, though this isn't always easy in a small kitchen.
Once you've opened a pack, either reseal the bag or decant it into an airtight container.
Brown rice has a shorter shelf life than most grains, so it can spoil sooner than you might think. It has a higher oil content than white rice, so it oxidises faster and can turn rancid after as little as six months.
Unless you eat it regularly, it's one dried good not to buy in bulk, in case it ends up going to waste.
9. Know the difference between use-by and best-before dates
Use-by and best-before dates are often confused, but they're not the same thing.
Use-by date relates to safety Best-before date is about quality, not safetyBest-before dates are typically found on bread, frozen, tinned and dried foods.
Milk and cheese used to have use-by dates on, but these have been replaced with best-before dates to reduce food waste. They're still safe to eat if past their best – a sniff test is sufficient, or look for signs of mould or curdling.
No date at allWith fruit and veg you can use your judgment. Avoid eating anything that's smelly, mouldy or slimy. Veg that are a bit sad and limp, but not off, can be used in things like homemade soup, where the texture doesn't matter as much.
See which cheaper supermarket own brands are worth buying, based on our independent comparative taste testssource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/common-food-storage-mistakes-to-avoid-aNuGK0m0S3Xj