As temperatures start to rise, the Food Safety Information Council is warning Australians that neglected items at the back of the fridge — like a lone avocado left for weeks — can become a health hazard.
Lydia Buchtmann, the CEO of the council, said there are an estimated 4.67 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year that result in 47,900 hospitalisations and 38 deaths. This foodborne illness costs the economy nearly $3 billion each year.
Last year, Food Standards Australia New Zealand found fewer than half of over 2,000 respondents followed proper food-handling procedures while cooking.
So, what's the best way to give your fridge a thorough spring clean?
'Best before' vs 'use by'
Cleaning can be tricky, as people often confuse two important labels on food — the 'Best Before' and the 'Use By' dates.
"Essentially, they [the labels] just mean what they say. 'Use By' means you actually have to use that food by that day," she said.
"The 'Best Before' date is, as it says, just about quality. So it will taste better by that day, but you can still eat it after that day."
She said people can rotate their food by putting the new products at the back of the fridge or pantry and using the older items first.
Freeze the leftovers
The Food Safety Information Council encourages Australians to use their freezers more often — to store leftovers and divide meat and poultry into portions suitable for recipes.
Vincent Ho is an associate professor of medicine and academic gastroenterologist at Western Sydney University. He said there is a definite link between ineffective food storage and food poisoning.
"Food [should] be stored in a particular environment to minimise the growth of bacteria," he said.
"We know, bacteria flourish in a zone of temperature between 5 degrees and 60 degrees Celsius, that's called the danger zone. And that's when we get a lot of bacterial reproduction."
Repackage — skip original boxes
But effective food storage isn't just about checking the expiration dates.
Rozita Vaskoska, consumer food safety spokesperson at Australia's national science agency CSIRO, said packaging of the food also matters.
"It's good to not bring [external package] inside the pantry, because it can bring the risk of moths as well," she said.
"If you have a cereal, try to tip it in a container that is dedicated to cereal, rather than just keeping the original packaging in and any other external packaging that is removable."
Deep clean your refrigerator
After the fridge is emptied of all the jars of expired jam and mouldy beetroot, it's time to wash it.
Ho said it's important to regularly take out all the food as well as the shelves for a deep clean session.
"When you are washing the shelves and drawers, use warm, soapy water. If you don't have access to that, use a little bit of water and vinegar mix again," Ho said.
"But wipe down all the surfaces, and here's a very important point: you need to make sure you dry them properly to prevent moisture and bacteria from returning."
As Australia is expected to be much hotter than average in the next few months, Ho said this means people need to pay extra attention to the temperature their food is exposed to.
He said the heat can also make human bodies more vulnerable to food poisoning.
"When you have warm environments, certainly, people are more likely to be more susceptible to gastroenteritis. We know that across the world, from all the data, that typically, in very hot conditions, people are more likely to get gastroenteritis in general," he said.
