September 19th's Tip
Refrigerator: During the summer and winter the settings for your refrigerator may not be the same. Keeping the refrigerator at 35F to 40F will keep your food safe. For your freezer,, 0F is the target temperature; bacterial growth will be stopped at that temp. Having a thermometer in both your refrigerator and freezer can save you much energy by not over cooling or spoiling your food. - Contributed by Andrew
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9 Responses
1
matt
September 20th, 2008 at 6:27 am
All food has bacteria. Refrigerators slow down bacterial growth. Freezers stop growth. It is important to note that freezers do not kill bacteria. When the food is thawed, the bacteria will resume growth.
Is this it true?
2
Stefanie
September 20th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Matt, yes, that is true. The freezer can dramatically slow or stop bacterial growth by, well, freezing the bacteria. They don't die, however, which is why if you put food in the fridge to thaw, you can only allow it to sit for so long before it must be cooked or thrown away. Once the food is removed from the cold temperature, the bacteria starts to
"wake up" and grow again.
3
Dana
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:13 am
Responding to:
All food has bacteria. Refrigerators slow down bacterial growth. Freezers stop growth. It is important to note that freezers do not kill bacteria. When the food is thawed, the bacteria will resume growth.
Is this it true?
Answer is that bacteria is born from spores in the air. So once the food is thawed new bacteria will form.
4
mommyknows
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 am
Thanks for the tip. With fall here and winter coming soon I am going to keep an eye on the temp setting for my fridge and freezer. There is no point in paying for them to be any cooler than necessary.
5
Jagad Guru
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 am
When it snows we usually turn the refrigerator off and keep the food in a cooler in the snow covering the porch..
6
Going Green
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I wish snow was a more regular occurance where I live. I reckon you could save quite a bit of your electric bill by using nature's fridge
, especially with prices as they are nowadays.
7
Stefanie
September 24th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Going Green, you probably could save a lot, but then you're also paying more to heat your home
8
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9
Ice Machine Repair Illinois
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I do really want for my family safety. and I don't have an idea that you should change the temp of the fridge seasonal.
"Refrigerator: During the summer and winter the settings for your refrigerator may not be the same. Keeping the refrigerator at 35F to 40F will keep your food safe."
This more convenient now for me and have a peace of mind. "convenient to my budget on electric bill
lol"