Refrigerator Odours ... How to Avoid

Keep all foods covered
It's a simple idea that really does work. Any food placed into the refrigerators cool, humid environment will immediately begin to oxidize. If a  steel bar were placed into your refrigerator it would oxidize (rust) – well, your food will undergo the same process. But, as foods age they also give off odours. Keeping food covered slows oxidation, which in turn will slow the creation of odours.

 Avoid spills
This may seem like a silly suggestion – except if you have children. One trick is to keep a separate kids container on a lower shelf. In it provide them with foods they are constantly craving. Apples, oranges, precut vegetables, and juice boxes can all be kept here. This keeps the kids spills to a minimum - adults are on their own.   

Separate fruits and vegetables
The acidity of one can affect the other. Once home from the grocery store separate them and store in their own bags. Zip top bags work well for this purpose. If bagged they can be placed into the same crisper drawer. If simply dumped together into the crisper they can interact, causing some rather unusual smells. 

Watch out for fruits
They in particular are different than most other foods. Many of them will deteriorate faster when inside a cool environment. Apples are a good example. When removed from the sealed bag and put into the refrigerator, they leave their dormant state and begin to literally “breathe”. Taking on more air leads to accelerated decay.

Beware the preserves
Odours can occur when an old container (Aunt Martha’s Christmas jam?) is pushed to the back of the refrigerator and forgotten. Being semi-sealed they can produce slow, almost imperceptible spills and gasses. If you have a really obnoxious smell that comes and goes, look for preserved pickles or fruits. Preserved jams on the other hand will tend to bubble out, producing sticky spills.

Throw away leaking containers
Milk bags in particular are renowned for leaking. Simply pouring contents into a sealed container before placing into refrigerator will eliminate this problem. If leak occurs clean the entire shelf immediately. Even a few drops of milk or cream can cause horrible odours if left long enough to go sour.

Beware the stinky cheese
Store within its own sealed container rather than open on the dairy shelf. It’s a living food that continues to age because of bacterial content. As it ages its characteristics can change. While processed cheeses harden with age, natural cheeses can start to weep. Weeping will produce ever-increasing amounts of gas. Some cheeses can really start to stink. Anyone who has ever had cheese go bad will never forget the smell.

Beware packaging
Pre-packaged foods can become odour absorbers. Cardboard containers can easily pick up and hold any odours that are circulating inside the refrigerator. Also the cartons can break down with age, slowly spilling their contents. Ever found an old cardboard carton of molasses at the rear of the refrigerator. Bet it’s been there since you made baked beans - ten years ago?   

See also Refrigerator Odours...Why,What,How?

  By Donald Grummett 

Copyright © 2005 Donald Grummett. All rights reserved

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