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How Cold Should a Refrigerator Be?

How Cold Should a Refrigerator Be?

Q: How Cold Should a Refrigerator Be?

To work at their best, refrigerators should be set at between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 5 degrees Celsius). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the ideal fridge temperature is 40° F to account for all sorts of different foods, including meat, produce, eggs and dairy. Shop Refrigerators

By: Shirley

Appliance Expert

9 min read

In this guide, we cover the ideal fridge temp for storing all kinds of food, including produce, meat, eggs, dairy and more. We also provide some helpful food storage tips you can use to lengthen the life of food stored in your fridge.

The Short Answer

Keeping your refrigerator at the proper temperature is important to ensure that your food stays fresh, but too much cold could mean lowered efficiency, or worse, frozen lunch meat. And we all know what a warm fridge does to fresh food—stinky produce, rotting meat and mold on everything. It's a careful balance. Knowing how cold your refrigerator should be can help you save money in the form of lower energy bills, while also preventing food waste and helping you get the most out of your groceries each week.

To work at their best, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the ideal fridge tempersture is 40° F to account for different foods including meat, produce, eggs and dairy.

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Why does temperature matter, you ask? In short, it controls how hospitable a certain environment is to bacteria. In this case, we're worried about spoilage bacteria, which feast on our food before we can feast on it ourselves. This bacteria is to blame for your moldy cheese, bruised tomatoes and smelly produce drawer. But there's good news! These detrimental little pests don't like the cold and won't be able to thrive in environments below about 40 degrees.

Displaying the inside shelves on a GE French Door Refrigerator

Tips for Food Storage

Besides paying close attention to the temperature, there are a few important things you can do to ensure that your food stays fresher for longer, including:

Store Food Properly

Make sure you take the time to separate different foods into their respective refrigerator compartments.
Cooked food and dairy Items like milk or pre-packaged dishes and leftovers should be in sealed containers or covered with cling wrap and stored on the top or middle refrigerator shelves. Milk should be stored on the top shelf towards the back.
Dairy products like cheese yogurt and butter are best stored on the middle shelf or in a designated dairy drawer. Eggs are best in their original container on the middle shelf towards the back.
Raw meats, such as beef fish, and poultry should be kept on the bottom shelf in sealed containers so they don't touch each other or drip onto other foods.
Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens should be kept in a humidity-controlled crisper drawer to help preserve their freshness.
Foods with long shelf lives like condiments, jams, juices and preserved foods should be stored in the doors; doing so will optimize shelf space.

Monitor Your Food

Pay attention not only to the temperature display in your fridge, but also to the quality of your food.
Check use-by dates and be sure to toss any expired items. Best-before dates are still good to eat but will lack quality and should be checked for freshness with each use.
Consume leftovers within 3 to 4 days. If you don't think you will finish them within 4 days, freeze them immediately as freezing them will keep them fresher longer and safe to consume at a later date.
Don’t overload. Air needs to be able to circulate around the food to chill it effectively. Overloading the refrigerator will cause the compressor to work harder than it needs to, thus lowering your energy efficiency.

Switch to a Smart Fridge

Technology is truly amazing, especially when it comes to the appliances in your kitchen. Smart refrigerators Samsung line with Family Hub, allow you to choose the optimal temperature for different compartments and have cutting-edge cooling systems to prevent spoilage.

This smart Samsung fridge has an array of temperature-controlled shelves and compartments for different foods requiring different storage temperatures.

The Bottom Line

Paying attention to the temperature in your fridge and its many compartments is important to helping ensure that your food stays fresh, and it will help cut back on food waste in your household. Luckily, if you have a modern fridge by industry leaders like Samsung, Whirlpool or GE, you most likely already have the technology and options you need to keep your food properly stored without even having to think about it. If you're having problems with your refrigerator or have additional questions not answered here, reach out to our award-winning appliance experts at 800-860-3577.