To keep your food fresh and safe, set your freezer to 0°F (-18°C) or lower. This temperature ensures that food is stored in a solid, frozen state, preventing growth of harmful bacteria, and preserving your food's quality and nutrition. For most items, this standard temperature works perfectly.
The fridge temperature control does not indicate a specific temperature in degrees but rather the cooling power of the appliance. Fridge temperature settings are generally numbered from 1 to 5, with 5 being the coldest.
The temperature selection on a Chest Freezer is made by setting the dial from ONE to SEVEN, with SEVEN being the coldest. The normal safe freezing level is obtained by setting the control on FOUR.
The appropriate freezer temperature range is generally between -16°C to -22°C (3°F to -7°F). However, it's best to aim for -18°C for optimal food preservation and energy efficiency.
The recommended freezer temperature to keep food safe is at or below 0°F (-18°C), making higher temperatures less reliable for long-term freezer storage. However, freezer temperatures may need to be adjusted by a few degrees to account for factors like location, humidity or outside temperatures.
Keep your freezer temperature at or below the recommended range of -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) to ensure safe and proper food storage.
Ideally, the freezer temperature should be maintained at -18°C or lower to effectively preserve frozen foods. Regularly monitoring the freezer temperature ensures that it remains within this optimal range, providing assurance that your frozen items are stored safely and maintaining their quality over time.
The recommended freezer temperature is typically around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius). This temperature is cold enough to keep food frozen and prevent bacteria growth and spoilage, ensuring your frozen food stays safe and maintains its quality.
“A”-rated fridge freezers are the most efficient models, and “G”-rated fridge freezers are the least efficient models, which could use more energy and drive your utility bills up.
Learn more. Is there a “correct” temperature for refrigerators and freezers? Yep: A fridge temperature of 37° F will keep fresh food good for as long as possible—with no ice crystals on lettuce or bacteria breeding in raw meats. As for the freezer, a temperature of 0° F will keep foods thoroughly frozen.
To keep your food fresh and safe, set your freezer to 0°F (-18°C) or lower.
Your freezer indicator lights may not be working because the indicator light may have burned out. Check for disconnected or broken wires to the indicator light before replacing it. The user control and display board might be faulty. However, this is not always the case.
Yes, your freezer can be too cold. If this is the case, you may need to adjust the temperature to 0ºF (-18ºC) or shift frozen items around to help encourage proper airflow. Parts of your freezer may also have worn out over time, affecting your appliance's freezing capabilities.
Temperature Settings: Keep the fridge temperature between 35°F and 38°F (1.7°C to 3.3°C) for optimal food safety. The freezer should be set to 0°F (-18°C).
Freezer frosting is the build-up of frost on the walls and shelves inside a freezer. This can happen when there are fluctuations in temperature or when too much moisture gets into the freezer. The frost can also be caused by air coming into the freezer, which brings humidity and causes it to freeze.
Coldest and Warmest Settings
Most refrigerators have a dial with numbers 1-7 or 1-9. The coldest setting is usually 7 or 9, while the warmest setting is 1. It is recommended to keep your refrigerator between 3-5 for optimal food storage.
To store frozen foods at best quality, keep the freezer set to maintain zero (0 °F or -17.8 °C). Some combination refrigerator-freezers cannot keep the freezer air that cold. As long as foods are solidly frozen, they will stay safe.
We would suggest that turning the fast freeze feature off six hours after placing the food in the freezer would cover most situations. The fast freeze button is a convenience rather than a necessity. It is quite possible to manually lower the temperature to the minimum possible using the thermostat.
“Most freezers do have a lower limit of around -10°F (-23°C).” Being extra cold may only mean it takes longer for your ice cream to soften up. Fink adds that “a freezer set below 0°F (-18°C) will not make food unsafe to eat [or harm your food], though it may raise your energy bill due to using extra power.”
If the environment is too cold, the freezer may not get sufficient run time to maintain its temperature. If the temperature is too warm, the appliance will have a hard time getting the interior down to the desired temperature. Dirty condenser coils or a broken fan motor can also cause insufficient freezing.
Food freezing in the fridge can be triggered by a handful of causes, including a faulty temperature sensor, blocked air vents, a leaky door seal and more. A refrigerator is designed to keep food cool for safe storage and should not freeze anything.
The temperature of a freezer should be set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit so everything stays very cold. A freezer should be cold enough to keep food frozen and preserve it until they are ready to be cooked or reheated.
The "Danger Zone" (40 °F-140 °F)
This range of temperatures is often called the "Danger Zone." That's why the Meat and Poultry Hotline advises consumers to never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour.
Thermostat numbers run from 1 (warmest) to 5, 7, or 9 (coldest). You want a setting corresponding to 0 C. Anything else risks possibly early spoiled food or wastes money. The numbers don't mean anything, so start in the middle and check by freezer thermometer.