How to reduce food waste in your fridge

Three ways to organise your fridge:

• Store covered meat at the bottom of the fridge on a tray or plate. This way juices can’t drip down and spoil other food. Also, be sure to store meat in the coldest part of the fridge (often the back) and keep it separate from cooked or other ready-to-eat foods.
• Keep cooked food or leftovers that need to be eaten first toward the front of the fridge. Even better, make space for a leftovers shelf so you know exactly where your leftover are. In big households throw a sticker on with your name so no one dares to take your leftovers to work.
• Regularly tidy, clean and check the contents of your fridge. This isn’t only great from a hygiene perspective, but it can also inspire meal ideas – like finding a nearly expiring tub of sour cream and deciding it’s beef nachos night.

How long can raw meat be kept in the fridge?

As long as the temperature of the fridge is ideal, beef and lamb products can be stored up to the use-by date on the label.

If you popped your fresh meat in the freezer on the day of purchase, after thawing, follow these rules for storage:

• Cuts of raw beef or lamb such as roasts, chops and steaks can last in the fridge up to five days if packaged/sealed.
• Mince and offal will last for two to three days if packaged/sealed.
• Corned beef in an unopened vacuum-packed bag can last from five to seven days. Use your fridge to defrost meat overnight. It’s the safest way and keep it from spoiling on the bench.

Also, did you know you can freeze raw meat up to its use-by date if it’s been chilling properly in the fridge? And more good news, defrosted meat can be refrozen if it’s been stored in the fridge correctly.