What temperature should a refrigerator be in fahrenheit

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Keep your food fresh longer—and help prevent foodborne illness—by finding the ideal refrigerator temperature.

Is your food going bad more quickly than usual? (Psst! Here’s how long fresh produce should last.) If produce is wilted, cheese is warm and ice cream is coming out of the freezer like soup, your fridge temp might need a checkup.

The Best Temperature for Your Fridge

The ideal refrigerator temperature is at or below 40°F (4°C), and your freezer temperature should be 0°F (-18°C). While some refrigerators and freezers are outfitted with all the bells and whistles, they might not have a built-in thermometer. Fortunately, appliance thermometers are generally inexpensive and can be found in most kitchen appliance stores or on Amazon.

Finding the optimal refrigerator temperature is key to making sure that your produce and leftovers last as long as possible, and is one of the easiest ways to prevent foodborne illnesses from eating expired and rancid milk, eggs and dairy. While properly freezing is a great way to store bulk items like meat, the FDA notes that it does affect “tenderness, flavor, aroma, juiciness, and color” the longer that your foods are frozen. Here’s our guide to navigating foods with freezer burn.

If you’re worried about your leftovers going bad before you can get to them, get creative! As our food editor, Peggy Woodward, says, “Leftover meat can be added to a simple soup or combined with eggs into a flaky quiche or frittata. If you have a small amount of leftover cooked vegetables, put an egg on top and enjoy the dish for supper. Leftover grains make tasty fried rice. Fruits can go into a fruit salad, chopped vegetables into a stir-fry.” Try these recipes for leftover chicken, too.

Why Is My Refrigerator Freezing Food?

It’s frustrating when you open your refrigerator and find frozen food. Especially when something freezes that can’t be salvaged, like lettuce or other fresh produce. Is the fridge broken? What’s going on? Luckily, a freezing issue can usually be fixed with a simple solution. Here are few possible reasons your fridge is getting too cold.

Temperature Setting

Check the temperature setting on your refrigerator. It should be set between 37°F and 40°F—the ideal refrigerator temperature to keep food fresh and cold but not frozen. If you have a numbered dial setting instead of a temperature reading, the highest number is the coldest (usually 5). Appliance brands recommend keeping it on the coldest setting, but if your food is freezing, try turning it down to 4.

Food Placement

Refrigerators need sufficient air circulation to maintain a proper temperature. Make sure your fridge isn’t overloaded, and that food isn’t blocking any of the air vents. On the other hand, an under stocked fridge can be a problem as well. Without enough items inside the fridge, the cold air settles at the bottom of the fridge and might freeze the food in your bottom drawers.

Leak in the Door Seal

If your fridge is leaking cold air due to a faulty door seal, the fridge will constantly be running trying to keep the temperature at the right level. And if your fridge is working in overdrive, it could cause freezing (or worse yet, the motor to go out!). Inspect the door seal and look for tears or warping, then replace if needed.

The Best Refrigerator Rules to Follow

Regularly monitoring your thermometer is the best way to make sure your food is safe, but just in case your refrigerator or freezer gets too warm or chilly, there are ways to ensure everything is working properly.

• Close the door! It’s easy to leave the door open while you’re cooking or unpacking groceries, but only leave the doors open when absolutely necessary.
• Spread out your food. It seems silly, but keep your food spread out so air can properly flow through the fridge and freezer. A fully stocked fridge is more likely to be warmer than a less stocked one.
• Clean your coils. Like other appliances, your fridge might need a little TLC from time to time. Make sure to clean the coils at least once per year to avoid refrigerator repairs.

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Though it's used more than anything else in your kitchen, the humble refrigerator/freezer generally doesn't merit much consideration. You put food in, and it stays refrigerated or frozen, and you pull that food back out when you need it. It's the kind of appliance you only really pay attention to when something goes wrong, or there's a power outage.

However, the truth is that there's a lot more to the refrigerator than you might expect. A temperature fluctuation of just a few degrees could be the difference between perfectly preserved food and a breeding ground for bacteria. Luckily, it's not that hard to get things right.

So, What's the Optimal Temperature for a Refrigerator?

According to the FDA, the food in your refrigerator should be stored at or below 40ºF. That temperature prevents the growth of bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and C. botulinum (which causes botulism). Given that the same FDA regularly posts recall notices about these sorts of bacterial outbreaks hospitalizing people, you probably don't want to invite them into your fridge.

While 40ºF is the important number to remember, you shouldn't cut it too close. Especially if you have a refrigerator whose temperature settings operate on a one to five scale, you should aim for something closer to 35 and 37 degrees. Too much higher and you're running the risk of crossing that dangerous 40ºF threshold, any lower and you're running the risk of freezing anything liquid in there.

Does My Freezer's Temperature Matter?

You'd be forgiven for assuming that a freezer is humming along just fine if it's set below 32ºF, the freezing point of water. That's not the case, however. Similar to their 40ºF threshold for the fridge, the FDA advises that freezers should be set at 0ºF or lower.

Emphasizing 0ºF instead of 0ºC for the freezer does a few things. Firstly, not everything you'll throw in there freezes right at 32ºF. Furthermore, opting for 0ºF makes sure everything in there can be safely eaten for an indefinite period of time.

How Can I Tell the Temperature Inside My Fridge?

As with any type of appliance, the features and functionality can vary widely from one fridge to the next. While one high-end fridge might provide you a temperature readout, what you're working with at home might not. To make matters even more complicated, Consumer Reports testing suggests the data you get isn't always accurate.

"Some refrigerators are spot-on, but others are wide off the mark," Consumer Reports test engineer for refrigerators Joe Pacella said. "I've seen a few refrigerators be off by as much as 5º, which can be the difference between fresh and spoiled food."

Your fridge might already provide you with an exact temperature reading, but it's no sweat to put a thermometer in there for some confirmation. Consider purchasing an analog or digital thermometer to keep track of the temperature in your fridge or freezer. Some of the analog options even use color-coded gauges to let you know when things are getting too warm or too cold. If you want that extra reassurance that your food is being kept properly cool, these thermometers are definitely a worthwhile investment.

What Else Can I Do To Fix a Fridge's Temperature?

There are a few reasons why a refrigerator's temperature might feel off, some of which are relatively easy DIY fixes.

One important element is the seal on your doors. Cool air can leak out over time if the door gaskets, which create a tight, magnetic seal, aren't working properly. To test their efficacy, put a dollar bill between the door and the fridge, partly sticking out. If it takes a bit of a tug to yank it out, your door seal isn't the issue. But if it slides out without any force, the seal could use some work.

The condenser coils, which create the cool air that makes your fridge work, can sometimes get clogged with dust or other stuff that keeps them from doing their job well. Cleaning them yourself is pretty easy, especially with a coil condenser brush and a vacuum. They're usually accessible at the lower back of your fridge, and even just a quick annual cleaning of them could keep your fridge in good working order.

Then there's the matter of fridge organization. Make sure that the fridge isn't overstuffed, which can disrupt airflow. Furthermore, make sure the air vents, usually along the back wall or a side wall, aren't obstructed by a food item placed directly in front of them.

Make the Fridge Your Friend

So while you might want to put a little more thought into the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer, it's not too difficult to keep things under control. Simply knowing what temperature to aim for is already half the battle. Once you've got that (literally) dialed in, the rest isn't too hard to handle.

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