Everyday life · England
Storing my food safely
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Storing food properly helps prevent food poisoning.
Ask for help with any step you find difficult.
Read the food label
Check where the food must be stored.
Put chilled and frozen shopping away promptly.
Check the fridge
Keep a food fridge between 0°C and 5°C.
A thermometer shows the temperature.
Keep a freezer around minus 18°C.
Keep foods separate
Seal raw meat and fish in leakproof containers.
Put them on the bottom fridge shelf.
Keep them away from cooked food.
Use-by means safety
Eat, cook or freeze suitable food by its use-by date.
Food can smell fine and still be unsafe.
If cooked or frozen safely in time, follow its storage instructions.
Best-before means quality
Food may still be suitable after this date.
Check storage instructions and signs of spoilage.
Ask for help if you are unsure.
Opening a packet
Write down when you opened the food.
Follow the instructions for opened packets.
These do not extend a use-by date.
Ordinary leftovers
Cool food promptly in small portions.
Refrigerate within one to two hours.
Eat within 48 hours or freeze promptly.
Cooked rice needs extra care
Cool rice quickly, ideally within one hour.
Keep it refrigerated and eat within 24 hours.
Takeaway rice may already have been reheated.
Label frozen food
Write what the food is.
Write the date you froze it.
Follow the packet’s freezing instructions.
Thaw food safely
Defrost food in the fridge.
Use it within 24 hours of fully thawing.
Some foods should be cooked from frozen: check instructions.
Reheat only once
Make reheated food steaming hot all the way through.
Follow stirring and standing instructions.
Do not reheat it again.
Safe cupboards
Keep food dry and away from cleaning chemicals.
Use clean containers made for food.
Keep allergy information with the food.
When something goes wrong
Keep fridge and freezer doors closed during a power cut.
Ask for help checking whether food stayed safe.
Do not taste food to check its safety.
Choose useful support
Pictures, clear dates and reminders may help.
Agree who helps with shopping and storing food.
Ask supporters to explain any proposed checks.
What you can do next
The Food Standards Agency explains household food safety.
Use the worksheet to plan your routine.
Read food-storage advice Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Food Standards Agency: chilling, freezing and defrosting Web page
Household fridge and freezer temperatures and safe storage.
- GOV.UK: use-by and best-before dates Web page
Understand food dates and storage instructions.
- Food Standards Agency: home food fact checker Web page
Answers about rice, food dates and other common food-safety questions.
- Food Standards Agency: food safety in a power cut Web page
Check what to do when chilled or frozen food becomes warmer.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Storing food safely — Easy Read
Simple household guidance on fridges, freezers, food dates, leftovers, cooked rice and keeping foods separate.
Adults and their chosen supporters · Household food storage · England
Bring shopping home and put it away
Plan enough fridge and freezer space before shopping. A cool bag can help on the journey. Separate raw meat and fish from ready-to-eat food and cleaning products. Put chilled and frozen shopping away promptly. Read each label: some foods can stay in a cupboard until opened, while others must stay chilled. Ask for help with small print or unfamiliar instructions.
Keep the fridge and freezer cold enough
The Food Standards Agency recommends a food fridge temperature of 0–5°C and a freezer around −18°C. Check the fridge with a thermometer; household guidance recommends doing this weekly. The numbered control dial is not necessarily a temperature reading. Follow the appliance instructions. These are household recommendations, not a requirement for everyone receiving support to keep daily charts. Medicines have separate storage instructions.
Keep raw food away from food ready to eat
Store raw meat, poultry and fish in sealed containers on the lowest fridge shelf. This helps prevent juices dripping onto other food. Keep cooked food and ready-to-eat items separate. In a shared fridge, agree suitable spaces and leakproof containers. Wash hands after handling raw food and clean spills promptly. Do not wash raw meat or poultry: splashes can spread germs.
Understand the two main food dates
A use-by date concerns safety. Do not eat, cook or freeze food after that date, even if it smells fine. Food cooked or frozen safely by the date can be kept under the appropriate cooked-food or freezing instructions. A best-before date concerns quality. Food may remain suitable afterwards if stored correctly and not spoiled. It is not a promise that food stays safe indefinitely. Correct storage still matters before either date.
Check instructions after opening
Follow instructions such as keeping an opened pack refrigerated and using it within a stated time. Write down when you opened it. Use the earlier deadline: opening instructions do not extend a use-by date. Keep the original label or its information when transferring food. Put unused food from an opened tin into a clean food container, cover it and refrigerate as directed.
Cool and store ordinary leftovers
Divide cooked food into smaller portions so it cools faster. Cool it promptly, cover it and refrigerate within one to two hours. Eat ordinary refrigerated leftovers within 48 hours, or freeze promptly if you will not use them. Follow any shorter product instructions. Reheat only once, until hot and steaming all the way through. Follow microwave stirring and standing instructions. Rice needs the shorter times below.
Take extra care with cooked rice
Cool rice quickly, ideally within one hour. Use smaller portions rather than leaving it cooling in the pan or rice cooker. Refrigerate and eat within 24 hours. If freezing rice, cool and freeze it within an hour of cooking. Reheat rice only once and make sure it is steaming throughout. Poor storage can make rice unsafe; reheating cannot reliably put that right. Takeaway rice may already have been reheated. Eat it promptly and ask the business before planning to reheat it again.
Freeze suitable food in useful portions
Check the packet allows freezing. Freeze safely stored food on or before its use-by date. Cool homemade meals promptly before freezing. Use suitable sealed containers or freezer bags. Label the food and the freezing date; include any important allergen information. Smaller portions let you take out only what you need. Freezing does not make spoiled or unsafely stored food safe.
Defrost safely and avoid repeated reheating
Thaw food in the fridge in a container that catches drips. Use it within 24 hours of fully thawing. Microwave defrosting should be followed immediately by cooking. Follow instructions for products intended to cook from frozen. Do not simply refreeze thawed raw meat or fish. You can cook it thoroughly, cool it promptly and freeze the cooked meal. When that meal is used, reheat it only once.
Keep cupboards and containers suitable
Store dry foods in closed food containers or secure packets, away from heat, damp and pests. Keep food off the floor and separate from cleaning chemicals. Use containers made for food, not old chemical containers. Keep ingredient labels available, especially where someone has an allergy. Agree how to prevent foods containing an allergen getting into that person’s food, including in shared storage.
If the fridge breaks or the power goes off
Keep fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Note when the problem started and check temperatures if you can. Food safety depends on the temperature reached and how long food has been warm; feeling cool is not enough. Use the linked Food Standards Agency power-cut advice. If you cannot establish that chilled food stayed safe, do not eat it. Do not taste food to test its safety. Ask for help arranging safe food and repairs.
Make the routine work for you
You could use large-print dates, picture labels, a timer for cooling food or a reminder to use leftovers. Keep the actual date and time available; colour alone may be unclear. Agree which tasks you want to do yourself and where you need support. Ask someone to demonstrate one step at a time. Staff should explain proposed checks and involve you in decisions. Our agency-home-rights guide explains proportionate checks; safe storage does not require turning every home into a care-home system.
Words you could use
“Please help me make a food-storage routine I understand. Show me where foods go, how to read dates, and when to cool, freeze or use leftovers.”
More useful links
- Food Standards Agency: chilling, freezing and defrosting Web page
Household fridge and freezer temperatures and safe storage.
- GOV.UK: use-by and best-before dates Web page
Understand food dates and storage instructions.
- Food Standards Agency: home food fact checker Web page
Answers about rice, food dates and other common food-safety questions.
- Food Standards Agency: food safety in a power cut Web page
Check what to do when chilled or frozen food becomes warmer.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 9 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Food Standards Agency: chilling, freezing and defrosting Web page
Fridge and freezer temperatures, household thermometer checks, defrosting and storage containers.
- GOV.UK: use-by and best-before dates Web page
Food safety and quality dates, cooking or freezing by the use-by date and storage instructions.
- Food Standards Agency: avoiding cross-contamination Web page
Separating raw and ready-to-eat foods, clean food containers, cupboards and cleaning chemicals.
- Food Standards Agency: home food fact checker Web page
Updated August 2026; rice cooling, storage, freezing, reheating and takeaway rice.
- Food Standards Agency: cooking your food Web page
Leftovers, prompt cooling, 48-hour storage and reheating only once.
- Food Standards Agency: household food hygiene for students Web page
Shared-fridge storage, portions, freezing, thawing and household meal planning.
- Food Standards Agency: Christmas food hygiene Web page
Planning fridge space, cool bags, separating shopping and prompt storage.
- GOV.UK: food-labelling instructions Web page
Product-specific storage and time limits after opening; does not impose business systems on households.
- Food Standards Agency: food safety in a power cut Web page
Temperature and time matter during outages; closed doors and safe handling.
- CQC: involving people to manage risks Web page
Support and safety measures should involve the person and be proportionate.
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