Your Fridge Might Be Making Your Child Prone to Sickness!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Many of us have the impression that storing our foods in the refrigerator will keep them fresh and safe. But, not having your appliance set at the right temperature can create a breeding ground for harmful bacteria to grow and flourish, which can result in an unsafe environment for food storage for you and your kids.

Improper food storage and sanitation can lead to a high risk of foodborne illnesses, especially this rainy season. Among these diseases is listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating food with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeriosis can be dangerous to pregnant women, newborns, children, and elderly, and can result to   fever, muscle aches, or even gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea.  

As such, refrigerating a food contaminatedwith Listeria can cause it to spread to other food products inside the refrigerator that may be making your child prone to sickness.

The good news, however, is that there are various ways we can do to reduce the risk of listeriosis at home by raising anawareness on proper refrigerator care to help improve the quality of food that you and your kids eat.

Consume Use-By Date food products immediately

Use-by date refers to the final day by which perishable goods should be consumed.  After the recommended date, food quality is likely to go down and the food safety is lessened.

Therefore, it is important to make sure that food products are eaten before their use by date and not after.

You may realize that use-by date products spoil easily. Thus, it is crucial for you to follow storage instructions. However, take note that you should follow the use by dates on unopened ready-to-eat food products and not storing food packages after they have been opened. Storing opened food products in the refrigerator can increase the risk of Listeria to grow. 

Clean your refrigerator regularly

It is important to wipe food spills immediately to keep Listeria from growing and spreading to other foods. You can clean the inside walls and shelves with hot water and a mild liquid dishwashing detergent then rinse it thoroughly.

Likewise, make sure to throw old and spoiled foods that may cause growth and spread of bacteria. Try moving older foods in the front part of your fridge to make it more visible so that it can be consumed before it gets spoiled.

Keep raw meat, poultry, or fish, which may contains several bacteria, from cooked meals. Also, make sure that raw meats are at the bottom part of the shelf to avoid it from dripping. However, it is still better to have them sealed in a tight container.

Properly sanitizing your refrigerator can avoid different types of bacteria like Coliforms, Vibrio, salmonella, e-coli, Botulinum, and Pseudomonas—all of which harmful to the human health—from growing on foods such as raw meat, milk, fish, and more.

Keep your refrigerator at the right temperature

Having your refrigerator at the proper temperature can avoid or slow the growth of Listeria. To check if your refrigerator is at the right temperature, put an appliance thermometer inside and make the necessary adjustment in the temperature control. Makes sure that your refrigerator register at 40°F (4°C) or below and your freezer at 0°F (-18°C).

Refrigerating below the recommended 4℃  will significantly slow the growth of bacteria. But as the temperature rises, the bacteria can grow at a faster rate, which can result to spoilage, wastage, and food poisoning.

Your refrigerator plays an important role in keeping your food safe and free from any bacteria that can result to foodborne illnesses. In fact, operating at the wrong temperature can leave room for the bacteria to get the nutrients and temperature it need to grow inside your refrigerator.

While refrigerators can be a breeding ground for foodborne illnesses, Beko Refrigerator’s Active Ioniser neutralises the bacteria that cause effluvia to create an antibacterial effect to keep the refrigerator from harmful pathogens such as Listeria. Also, Its Blue Light Technology allows for a continued process of photosynthesis, allowing fresh produce to maintain their natural flavors and nutritional value for up to 30 days.

On top of that, the Beko Refrigerator’s new age of NeoFrost Technology keeps the humidity of their refrigerator at an optimum level of up to 90 percent in the cooler for longer freshness. It also makes for a more stable and faster cooling for both the cooler and the freezer compartments at A+ energy efficiency level. Moreover, itsindependent cooling systems also helps in preventing odor transfer in between the compartments to keep the quality of the air inside at maximum levels.

To know more about Beko and Beko Philippines, like the Beko Philippines fan page (@BekoPH) or visit the website at www.beko.ph.

Written By Dyeun Zapanta, Assistant General Manager for Beko

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