10 ways to use your fridge correctly

Last night, when I went home after work, I noticed a weird smell coming from the fridge when the husband opened it to grab a drink. It made me nausea and immediately went on a hunt for the source of the smell. I rarely keep stuffs in my fridge for over a week (except dried goods and frozen stuffs) so I wonder what it is. I finally found the culprit in my fridge drawer: my half-used chicken breast meat. I only bought it 2 days ago, so it caught me by surprise. On top of the smell, there's a slimy/glue-like feeling on the meat, so I guess that's another clue in future if something has gone bad. I remembered my dad telling me that if there's a layer of slimy/glue-like feeling on toufu or tao gua, throw it away.

This morning, i saw this article on my facebook and thought it's most appropriate. it's in Chinese, so here's the translation, summarized:

10 ways to use your fridge correctly:

1. Keep your fridge only 70% full, to allow for air circulation
2. The purpose of lowering temperature of your fridge is to slow down bacteria growth, and NOT to allow your food to last longer. Lower temperature will also not prevent your food from rotting. In fact, nutrients from the food will fade away as the days goes by. Hence, it's better to use up the food asap.
3. Keep dried food in freezer, and use it before expiry
4. Beans, grain, vermicelli etc should be sealed properly, to prevent bacteria contamination
5. Keep raw and cooked food seperately. Cooked food should be kept in the upper levels, and finished within 2 days.
6. Always wipe fruits dry, keep in a bag, without zipping it up to ensure air circulation. Consume within 5 days. Vegetables can be wrapped using kitchen towels, before wrapping it up with a plastic bag, with roots pointing down. Consume within 5 days.
7. Keep eggs in egg box. Consume within 2 weeks.
8. Fish, meat, prawns etc, should be packed in smaller packages before freezing. When thawed, it must be cooked immediately. Do not refreeze once the food has been thawed.
9. Non-glass canned goods, when opened, should be re-canned in your own containers for storage.
10. Food that contains oil should not be wrapped using food wrap, to prevent phthalates contamination

Hope this helps! :)