It’s one of the fridge staples that every household will always have in stock – but if you often find yourself wasting precious milk and having to pour it down the sink, it might be because of how you’re storing it.
It’s extremely common for households to stick bottles of milk – whether red-top skimmed, green-top semi-skimmed or the blue whole milk – in the fridge door to keep cool, especially with those fragile milk bottles leaking half the time when they’re laid down.
But, according to experts at kitchen appliance company Beko, putting milk in your fridge door is actually a bad idea and is actually costing you money in wasted milk.
Some supermarkets no longer print best-before or sell-by dates on their milk, forcing you to rely on a ‘sniff test’ to check that the milk hasn’t gone off and turned sour.
With no frame of reference to work with, it means constantly checking if the milk is still good before you can use it.
Kitchen appliance firm Beko says that UK households bin about £250 worth of food per person in a typical year, or £1,000 for a family of four.
Salah Sun, Head of Product Management at Beko UK, said: “The way we organise our fridges can make or break our efforts to reduce food waste.
“Most people don’t realise that poor fridge organisation isn’t just about aesthetics – it directly impacts food longevity and your household budget.”
Creating designated zones in your fridge is the answer, say experts, to making your food last for longer, including milk.
Salah explains: “Temperature fluctuates within your fridge, so storing items in the right zones is crucial.
“The bottom shelf, being the coldest, is perfect for raw meats, while the middle shelves maintain ideal conditions for dairy and prepared foods.
“The door, often used for milk, is actually the warmest area due to frequent opening.
“We recommend keeping more stable items like condiments and drinks in the door compartments, moving milk to the middle shelf where temperatures remain more constant.”
But the impact of proper fridge organisation isn’t just about reducing waste.
“When you can see and access everything easily, you’re more likely to cook at home and make healthier choices,” Salah Sun notes.
“Plus, maintaining optimal storage conditions means your fresh produce lasts longer, reducing both waste and shopping frequency.”