Food storage

In the UK, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)
publishes a series of small "Foodsense" booklets addressed to the
general public. One of these is called "Food Safety" and sets out
measures to assure safety in shopping for food, taking food home,
storing it , kitchen hygiene and cooking food.

In the member countries of the European Union, the problem of
temperature and duration of storage is made much easier because, with
a very few exceptions like fresh fruit and vegetables, food packaging
has to carry "use by" dates (short shelf-life products) or "best
before" dates (longer life products) and any necessary storage
conditions (though not necessarily precise temperatures).

The Home Storage section of the booklet is quite short, and I give the
text below :-

"Home Storage

Keep the fridge at 5 deg C or lower to restrict the increase in food
poisoning bacteria.
Use a fridge thermometer to check. Keep it in the fridge. A freezer
should not be warmer than -18 deg C

To keep a fridge cold all the time, don't overload it.
Don't leave the door open longer than necessary.
Defrosting fridges regularly will keep them cooler and use less
energy.

Fridges slow down and freezers stop the increase in most common
bacteria, but can't kill them. So we need to stop them spreading from
food to food.

If uncovered or dripping, raw meats or defrosting foods can
contaminate other foods with bacteria.

In case there are any drips, keep raw meat or defrosting foods
underneath any cooked food, which should also be covered. It's also
important to avoid foods dripping on to vegetables and salads.

Frozen food should not be kept longer than the instructions on labels
or given with the freezer. If possible, defrost the freezer when
stocks are low. Before defrosting, arrange how you will keep the
remaining food cold, such as in a neighbour's freezer, in an insulated
box, or wrapped in plenty of newspapers or clean blankets.

Store eggs in the fridge."