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How to do fridgescaping the right way, according to a food scientist
A food scientist has revealed that if you want to ignore expert advice and participate in the emerging fridgescaping trend, you need to follow a few steps to ensure your icebox is safe.
Most people own, in one form or another, a fridge. They keep our food fresh, the smells to a minimum, and you can put hot food in the fridge despite what some people say. Fridgescaping, an emerging trend on apps like TikTok, has been slowly gathering criticism and support as people question its safety.
What is fridgescaping?
TikTok, land of the prison meal tutorial, is home to boatloads of questionable trends that the general public just can’t seem to get enough of.
One such trend is Fridgescaping, which is described as designing the interior of your fridge for aesthetic pleasure and not the usual practicality. As such, people on the video-sharing app can be seen putting everything from picture frames to fresh flowers in their fridges.
Of course, the trend has sparked some concerns. Firstly, experts have said that fridgescaping is a disaster waiting to happen as you pack the space with potentially contaminated objects that will then pass to your food.
There are also concerns surrounding the practicality of the trend, after all, your fridge is used to store your food. Packing it full of nonedible items only means you have less space.
But not everyone dislikes fridgescaping, as some argue it forces you to keep a better handle on cleaning, stocking, and organizing your space. With the presence of less plastic, there’s also the argument that fridgescaping is better for the environment.
How to hop on the trend the right way, according to food scientist
Dr. Bryan Quoc Le is a food scientist and engineer who has been featured in publications like Buzzfeed, the New York Post, and The Independent. While the safety detriments to the trend are clear, the doctor said you can jump on the fridgescaping trend with some minor considerations.
“The positioning of foods and decorative items in the fridge is key to ensuring your refrigerator keeps food items cold and uncontaminated,” he told us. “Dr. Bryan Quoc Le is a food scientist and engineer who has been featured in publications like Buzzfeed, the New York Post, and The Independent. While the safety detriments to the trend are clear, the doctor said you can jump on the fridgescaping trend with some minor considerations.”
If you’re going to be including foreign items in your fridge like picture frames and vases, you need to ensure all of your food is in air-tight containers. Considering how nasty plastic can be, you might instead choose glass.
The scientist continued: “Any items containing dirt should not be placed in the refrigerator, as these can harbor spores from molds and bacteria that produce botulinum toxin, the compound responsible for botulism, and other toxins.
“Many microorganisms can tolerate low temperatures and some can even thrive better at refrigeration temperatures. These are known as psychrotrophic bacteria, which can increase the chance of spoilage through the release of their enzymes and are found in abundance in material containing dirt.”
