Every household has a stock of food staples that are often purchased at the beginning of the month while the perishable food such as the vegetables, dairy products, fruits and meat are purchased in a limited quantity that can be used up within a few days. These products have limited but increased longevity when stored in the refrigerator.
The role of a refrigerator is something that a lot of people ignore and take it for granted. If the refrigerator is not maintained well, the consumers often end up witnessing food damage due to bad or dysfunctional parts in the fridge. Here are some factors listed down for you that determine why there is a difference in food quality when stored in the fridge.

1. The Time It Has Been in the Market

People are often known to keep a tab on the days that the food has been in the fridge and can decide its goodness accordingly. What they forget is that perishable food comes to the store first and then they get to buy it. Whenever you buy products such as bread, dairy, or processed meat, there is the need to check on the date of manufacturing and accordingly purchase. If it has been in the store for long enough, it won’t stay in good condition once you take it home and expect it to stay fresh thereafter.

2. The Type of Food That You Intend to Store
When you store food such as meat or dairy products such as milk or probably cheese, you will notice that meat stays longer than that of dairy products. The latter lasts for as much as five days while later going wrong and being unfit for use. You could try storing it in airtight containers and at the back of the shelves where it is a bit more colder. When it comes to the food becoming bad in a day or two, it can also be due to dysfunctional parts of the refrigerator that may need immediate attention from your end.

3. The Age of the Fridge
There are times when an ill-maintained refrigerator or probably something that has been there for a very long time doesn’t provide enough cooling and protection to the foods that are stored. When that is the case, you get to witness frequent damage to the food that you store no matter what it is. Such problems aren’t with the food but the appliance as a whole where either there is a damaged or dysfunctional part or the need to change the fridge just because it has been there serving you for a long time with it being unable to perform its functions just as it did earlier.

4. The Way You Store Your Food
Storing warm food in the refrigerator allows it to consume more energy to maintain the temperature and so it is always advised to store food once it is cold. This is also known to decrease the longevity of the fridge while deteriorating in quality with each passing day. Keeping foods covered also saves up on it staying fresh for long.
The author had close associations with those who are experts in refrigerator repairs and writes this article to let people know about how to keep food fresh when refrigerated and ways to care for the appliance.