Your salad drawer is putting your health at risk

Did you know that the fridge can be one of the dirtiest places in the whole kitchen? And the dirtiest part in the fridge is actually the drawers where you traditionally keep salad and vegetables. According to scientists, salad drawers in refrigerators can contain nearly 8,000 bacteria for every square centimetre and 750 times the levels of bacteria considered safe for humans. The drawers can harbour potentially killer bugs such as salmonella, E.coli, and listeria, especially if we keep decomposing and rotting vegetables in there for too long.

In one study, tests on salad drawers in 30 frost-free fridges had 7,850 bacteria per square centimetre, with some swabs having as many as 129,000 per square centimetre. Salad leaves that have turned into slimy mush, fruit which have grown mould, and vegetables have begun to leak and rot, cause your fridge to contain so much harmful bacteria.

The smart trick that can turn harmful to clean

Here’s what you can do to avoid the harmful situation in your fridge. The last tip is the best way to help you stay on top of the drawer cleanliness.

• Wash all fruit and vegetables before using them.
• Clean out your fridge, particularly focusing on wiping down your salad drawers, at least once a month in lots of hot, soapy water.
• Keep an eye on when something in your fridge is going out of date. 
• Cover the bottom of your fridge and drawers in a layer of foil and cling film. You can then easily remove and replace the protective layer every week when it starts to get dirty.

How often do you clean your fridge?