AN EXPERT has revealed exactly where every food & drink should be stored in your fridge – as you could be wasting £250 each year.
Unpacking after acan be a huge chore, so it's likely you're paying little attention to where you're placing items in the
But where you put your food in the fridge can make a huge difference as to how long it lasts and can leave you with less wastage.
Kitchen appliance company Beko says that UK households bin about £250 worth of food per person in a typical year, or £1,000 for a family of four – and the way you organise your fridge is part of that.
Salah Sun, Head of Product Management at Beko UK, a leading manufacturer of fridge freezers and other home appliances, said: “The way we organise our fridges can make or break our efforts to reduce food waste.
“Most people don't realise that poor fridge organisation isn't just about aesthetics – it directly impacts food longevity and your household budget.”
Sun explains: “Temperature fluctuates within your fridge, so storing items in the right zones is crucial.
“The bottom shelf, being the coldest, is perfect for raw meats, while the middle shelves maintain ideal conditions for dairy and prepared foods.
“The door, often used for milk, is actually the warmest area due to frequent opening.
“We recommend keeping more stable items like condiments and drinks in the door compartments, moving milk to the middle shelf where temperatures remain more constant.”
But the impact of proper fridge organisation isn’t just about reducing waste.
“When you can see and access everything easily, you're more likely to cook at home and make healthier choices,” Sun notes.
“Plus, maintaining optimal storage conditions means your fresh produce lasts longer, reducing both waste and shopping frequency.”
Here's everything you need to know about the exact way to store food correctly to make your appliance more and prevent food waste.
Top shelf
Typically the top shelf of your fridge is less cold than other compartments, so should be reserved for foods that don't need to be kept too chilled and are ready to eat.
This could include foods such as deli meats, desserts and dips.
You could also store sweeter treats like trifles and desserts on the top shelf.
Middle Shelf
The middle shelf of your fridge is cooler than the top shelf but not as cold as the bottom shelf, making it the ideal place to store your dairy products.
Cheese, yoghurt, butter, eggs and milk should all be placed here.
Some fridge freezers even feature a dedicated dairy compartment.
This drawer is specially designed to keep these items fresh by maintaining an optimal temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, Beko said.
If you've still got some room on the middle shelves, this is where you should place your chilled drinks, which ideally should be placed near the centre.
Bottom Shelf
As the coldest part of a fridge, food stored here has it's freshness locked in, which helps prevent dripping and keeps at bay.
This makes it an ideal place to store fussier ingredients like raw meat, poultry and fish.
Meat items can be quite costly, so it's well worth making sure they are stored properly.
Drawers
The drawers in your fridge are designed to increase humidity and alter airflow.
This creates ideal conditions for storing fruit and vegetables, but these two types of produce should be kept separate.
This is because certain fruits emit ethylene which can speed up the ripening of vegetables, causing them to decay prematurely.
Fruits, vegetables, salads and fresh herbs should all be stored in the drawers.
Door
The warmest part of the fridge is the door, which is also the most inconsistent area of the appliance in terms of temperature due to frequent openings and closings.
This is where you should store preserved food items that are less likely to spoil.
Condiments, jam, juice, soda drinks and water should all be kept here.
