Everyone wants to eat healthy and no one wants to be exposed to bacteria or mold in their food. It can happen, but luckily there are steps you can take to prevent it from becoming a common occurence. In the following article, we’ll answer the question “what is the best way to limit growth of bacteria in food” so you can start eating healthier and avoid any harmful bacteria or mold.
But first, we broke up this article into individual sections to make it easier to read. If you’d like to jump to any specific section in the article, just click a link below to be taken directly to that section.
Where Does Bacteria Come From?
Before we dive into how to limit the growth of bacteria, it’s important to understand where bacteria comes from. If you know where it comes from and how it thrives, you can take the necessary steps to prevent it from growing and spreading in your food.
First of all, when you’re referring to bacteria growing on food, it seems obvious that you would need food for the bacteria to grow. That could mean food in your fridge, pantry, or even food scraps leftover in storage containers or food that has fallen behind a cabinet. So if you suspect bacteria or mold growing, it should be clear that food isn’t far behind.
Second, bacteria and mold thrive in certain temperatures. That’s why refrigerators exist, to keep food from spoiling and growing bacteria and mold. Knowing that refrigerators are cold and freezers are even colder, it should be clear that bacteria and mold thrive in warmer temperatures as the cold delays the spoiling process that leads to bacteria.
And finally, moisture or water is key to having bacteria or mold grow on food. That’s why it’s important to let your food dry out slightly before putting it in the fridge. This is another component we’ll talk about later on in more detail.
What Temperature Does Bacteria Grow?
As mentioned, bacteria and mold tend to grow in warmer temperatures, which can range anywhere from 50 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 5 – 63 degrees Celsius. That’s a wide range because it’s a spectrum, meaning bacteria will grow faster in the warmer temperatures.
If you leave a bagel out in 40 degrees, which is the average refrigerator temperature, it will eventually grow mold and bacteria, but much slower than if you leave that same bagel on the counter in 80 degree temperature.
That’s why freezers are even colder because they tend to slow and sometimes even completely limit the growth of bacteria and mold.
How Long Does it Take for Bacteria to Grow?
The amount of time it takes bacteria to grow depends on a few different factors, most notably the type of food and temperature.
For example, acidic foods are less likely to see bacterial growth because bacteria can’t survive in very acidic foods, like lemons or vinegar (ex. salad dressing). The more acidic a food, the longer it will take for bacteria to grow.
Second, the time it takes bacteria to grow also depends on the temperature. As mentioned earlier, bacteria thrives in a range of temperatures between 50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. So a basic (opposite of acidic) food, like bread, at a higher temperature will grow bacteria and mold much faster than say an acidic food like vinegar based salad dressing that is stored in the fridge.
While generalities in this scenario aren’t very helpful, there is a rule of thumb you can use to get an idea of when bacteria can start growing.
You should put foods in the refrigerator or freezer 2 hours after eating. If it’s particularly warm outside, like a picnic or outdoor meal in the Summer, then you should put away those foods within an hour of being out.
It’s unlikely that you’ll immediately start seeing bacteria and mold start growing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. It can start growing within just a couple hours of being in the warmer temperature, but won’t be visible until later. Just because you can’t see the bacteria doesn’t mean it’s not there and is safe to eat.
How Long Can I Leave Food Out?
As mentioned earlier, you should put food in the fridge 1-2 hours after it’s been out. You should also avoid putting hot food directly into the fridge. It can be tempting to put your leftovers straight from the dish into a container after pulling it out of the oven, but you should avoid doing that because it can actually cause bacteria and mold to grow.
The warmth from your food will turn to condensation in the fridge and as we’ll talk about in the next section, water is a necessity for bacteria to grow. So the more water you have, the more likely you’ll see bacteria. And condensation from the warmth of your food is a great way to incorporate more water into your leftover food containers.
What Causes Bacteria to Grow?
As we’ve talked about already, there are a few requirements for bacteria to grow, most notably food, time, temperature, and the last component is moisture or water. Just as humans and all life needs water, so does bacteria and mold.
Bacteria and mold thrive in moist environments, which is why you start to see bacteria and mold grow in your home if there’s a flood. Or a leak behind your sink. Or really any other type of standing water.
And just as mold can grow from standing water, when combined with food, it tends to grow even faster. Add a warm environment and you’ll have bacteria before you can snap your fingers.
So to prevent bacteria or mold from growing, it’s important to try and limit the amount of moisture around your food. For example, if your fridge is warm enough that you start to see condensation build up on the walls inside of the fridge, then you’re more likely to see bacteria and mold growth in your fridge, which can quickly contaminate all of your food.
Also, as mentioned earlier, when putting away food, let it cool down a bit before putting a lid on and throwing it in the fridge. If you put a lid on the food while it’s still warm, the steam and warmth will turn into condensation on the inside and that condensation can speed up the growth of bacteria and mold.
When you asked “what is the best way to limit growth of bacteria in food” the most important thing to consider is where bacteria comes from, and the two most important answers are temperature and moisture. Now let’s talk about how to prevent bacteria and mold from growing in the first place.
What is the Best Way to Limit Growth of Bacteria in Food
Now that you know where bacteria comes from and how it thrives, the best way to limit growth of bacteria in food is to provide an environment that is opposite to the one where it thrives.
Keep Food in Cold, Dry Environments
For example, since bacteria thrives best in warm, moist environments, you will want to keep your food in a cold, dry environment, like your freezer or fridge.
Bread is a great example of this. If you leave a loaf of bread on your kitchen counter for a week you’ll start to see mold and bacteria grow. Put that same loaf of bread in the fridge and it will last for 2-3 weeks before you start seeing mold. Finally, put it in the freezer and that same loaf of bread will last for a few months.
As you can tell, the colder and drier the environment, the longer it takes for bacteria and mold to grow. Now, this isn’t applicable to all foods, but if you can put food in the freezer it will last longer. If you know it’s going to take you a few months to finish a loaf of bread, put it in the freezer to keep it from going bad.
If you know you’re going to finish it in a week or two, you can keep it in the fridge. And it’s best to avoid leaving it on the counter since it can grow mold so fast.
Prevent Moisture Buildup to Prevent Bacteria
The other component to bacteria growing in your food is moisture. It’s just as important as temperature, which is important to know so you don’t think food in the fridge is automatically safe.
Water is a key component to life, meaning that all life needs it to survive, and bacteria is no exception. So if there’s standing water around, there’s likely to be bacteria as well. That’s why flooding and leaks are so detrimental is that they can quickly lead to bacteria and mold growth. And food is no exception.
We’ve actually written about how to remove mold from caulking in shower in the past, which is arguably one of the most moist places in your home, ripe for bacteria and mold to grow.
Now, you might be thinking, “I’m not dunking my food in water and leaving it out” and I’m sure that’s the case. However, it’s important to know that there might be other areas that are accumulating moisture that are just around your food.
The two most obvious times where moisture can lead to bacterial growth in food are when putting warm food in the fridge and when moisture builds up on the side of your fridge.
As we mentioned earlier, you want to leave food out for a few minutes to cool down before putting it in the fridge. The reason being that the warmth and heat will lead to condensation and that condensation can lead to bacterial growth and mold.
As for your fridge, if it’s not cold enough, it can start to build up moisture on the walls, vegetable drawers, and fridge ceiling. That moisture is enough to start bacterial growth on all the food in your fridge. So if you ever see moisture building up in your fridge or freezer, turn down the temperature or check for other issues like a crack in the door seal that is preventing it from fully closing.
What Types of Foods are Likely to Have Bacteria
The final tip here to limit growth of bacteria in food is to know what types of food are more susceptible to bacteria and mold growth than others. You can’t completely prevent bacteria from growing on some foods no matter how long you leave them in the fridge or freezer, so it’s important to know what types of foods last longer than others.
For example, acidic foods are less likely to see mold growth and bacteria so they tend to last longer. Basic foods (the opposite of acidic) don’t last as long, so you’ll know that a loaf of bread won’t last nearly as long as a vinegar based salad dressing.
This isn’t as important to actually prevent growth, but it’s very useful in knowing where and when bacteria might start to grow on your food, so you can check that food more diligently.
Conclusion
When this article started, you came here with a question of “what is the best way to limit growth of bacteria in food” and hopefully you now have a much better understanding of how to accomplish that goal.
First, we covered where bacteria comes from and in what environment it thrives, most notably warm, moist environments. We also covered the temperature range where bacteria and mold tends to grow, 50 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit, how long it takes to grow, and when you should put away food.
Finally, we covered ways to limit bacterial growth in food by keeping foods in dry, cold environments, which is the opposite of warm, most environments. Preventing moisture buildup, which is a key component for bacteria and mold to grow, and finally becoming more aware of what foods are likely to grow mold and bacteria in the first place.
Hopefully this article has been useful in giving you the information necessary to limit bacterial and mold growth in your food.
