90% of families have bad habits when using the refrigerator, which can cause death.

Refrigerators keep food fresh longer, but they do not kill harmful bacteria. Despite the low temperature, refrigerators are always closed and contain all kinds of food, from cooked to raw. Over time, antifreeze bacteria survive and grow, causing direct harm to our bodies without us knowing.

Refrigerator is an indispensable item in every family kitchen.

If you pay a little attention, you will see that the refrigerator often has an unpleasant smell, this is a sign of bacteria growing and multiplying. During the process of bacteria decomposing and metabolizing food, it will cause a strange smell, and at the same time make the food toxic, if serious, it can endanger the user's life.

Bacteria in the refrigerator, potentially harmful to health

Bacteria in the refrigerator will continuously produce metabolic gases such as trimethylamine, hydrogen sulfide, methylamine, etc., causing food to spoil quickly. Here is an image of a chicken under a microscope placed in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Imagine this is the food you are about to eat, would you still want to eat it?

But what is more frightening is that bacteria are invisible to the naked eye. Food poisoning in the early stages is also not recognizable to the naked eye, but after entering the body, it causes unforeseen dangers.

A typical case: In July 2018, a patient was taken to Chaoyang Hospital for emergency treatment and suddenly experienced loss of consciousness, headache, and high fever. This is an acute disease that develops very quickly, and in a short time the patient fell into a coma, threatening his life.

After examination, the doctor discovered that the cause of the disease was due to eating unclean food. Bacteria from the food had entered the blood through the intestinal wall to the brain, causing encephalitis!

A strange smell in the refrigerator is a sign of bacteria.

This common bacteria is Listeria monocytogenes, most commonly found in refrigerators, which causes very high infections and relatively high mortality rates. In the United States, its mortality rate is even higher than Salmonella and Botox.

The "three characteristics" of Listeria Monocytogenes bacteria:

1. Wide distribution

Listeria Monocytogenes is widely found in nature, such as air, soil, water, animals and plants, and can be transmitted through various routes, causing contamination in the family's living environment and food contamination.

Not only can fresh fruits and vegetables be contaminated with Listeria, but cooked products such as beef jerky are also susceptible to this bacteria. To some extent, foods stored in the refrigerator have a very high rate of Listeria contamination.

Dangerous bacteria Listeria can grow and multiply in the refrigerator

2. Very strong ability to live

Listeria monocytogenes is a very "resilient" bacteria, they can withstand cold, salt, acid and alkali. Even more frightening, the ideal temperature for Listeria to reproduce is 0 - 10°C, which is also the temperature commonly found in refrigerators. If accidentally dropped into a freezer with a temperature as low as -20°C, Listeria can still happily live for up to a year.

3. High level of danger

Listeria has a very strong invasive ability. After combining with food, it can become a "killer" and accidentally trigger a health threat.

Especially in pregnant women, infants, the elderly, people with poor immunity, it can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and death. When entering the human body, Listeria enters the brain through the blood, can cause brain abscess, abnormal consciousness, coma and other symptoms, can also cause fetal infection, leading to miscarriage or stillbirth.

Knowing how to use the refrigerator will keep away disease-causing bacteria:

The biggest danger to food safety is not additives, but pathogenic microorganisms! In raw foods, there is a potential risk of disease causing bacteria Listeria, and the refrigerator is also the best hiding place for this bacteria. If in the family, not knowing how to use the refrigerator will cause a lot of harm to human health.

1. Clean the refrigerator regularly

Not cleaning the refrigerator for a long time will make food easily contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, health experts recommend cleaning the refrigerator regularly every week. However, it is not recommended to clean the refrigerator with detergents, disinfectants, etc. to avoid secondary contamination.

2. Place food in the refrigerator

- Wash your hands before storing food or canning food.

- After cooking, let the food cool, cover it with food wrap or a special box and put it in the refrigerator immediately. If left for too long, a type of bacteria called Listeria will develop, especially in refrigerators with temperatures above 4ºC.

- Do not put hot food in the refrigerator because suddenly putting it in a low temperature environment will cause the food to condense, creating favorable conditions for mold growth.

- Different leftover foods need to be kept separate to avoid cross-contamination of bacteria.

- The time to store leftover food in the refrigerator should not be too long, best within 4 - 5 days.

- Be careful to cook just the right amount of food. Some foods should not be reheated or recooked but should be consumed the same day, such as rice, agricultural products, peeled eggs, seafood, and dairy products.

- Food stored in the refrigerator should be divided into sufficient quantities for one use. Fresh meat is best processed as soon as possible.

- When taking food out of the refrigerator, it should be processed immediately. Do not take it out and then put it back in for further storage.

- Store leftover food away from raw foods, poultry, and seafood to prevent bacteria from entering.

- Keep the refrigerator temperature below 4ºC, freezer below 0ºC.

- If you suspect that food has spoiled, throw it away immediately. Bacteria can still grow in the refrigerator, making food no longer fresh and harmful to health.