Learn more about the FIFO and FEFO practices and avoid waste in your kitchen!

Is it recurrent to end up throwing away some leftovers, from your meals, which are forgotten in the fridge, or do you sometimes realize that you have out-of-date products in your pantry? Do you want to avoid these situations, but don't know what habits to adopt? You are in the right article! We will introduce you to two simple organization systems that, if you practice daily, will drastically reduce your food waste.

FIFO (First In First Out)

“First In, First Out” is a system, with a simple premise, that can be used both in a large warehouse and in your kitchen/pantry. As the name implies, it consists of storing food in order of arrival, thus, the first to be bought/prepared will be the first to be consumed.

This practice, in the context of a kitchen/pantry, is more suitable for the management of food with no expiration date indicated, as the food already prepared (eg, leftover meals, desserts, ...), products already open, vegetables, fruit, among others.

And how are the products organized to put this system into practice? Take note of the 2 golden tips that we have for you:

• Labels

For example in cases of storing food that is already prepared/open, it is very common to forget the date when it was prepared/open. It means that, often, for fear of not being in the best condition, we end up putting the food in the trash.

To combat this, you can put labels on the storage containers using, for example, paper tape or self-adhesive paper and write the date on which the food was prepared, using a pencil or a simple/permanent pen.

Do you want something even more practical? Take a look at the Memo collection - bottles with a slate that allow you to write directly with chalk, as many times as you want - available at In&Out Cooking!

Remember: always keep a chronological order in your fridge, placing the food with the oldest dates ahead, ready to be consumed, as soon as possible.

• New vs old

About unprocessed fruits and vegetables, for example, the important thing is that there is no mixing between the oldest and the most recent units, because of the possible contamination. Since the use of closed bottles or storage boxes, in this case, is not so practical, you can use several fruit holders, different airtight bags, or even a trolley with several compartments (suggestions below), to achieve this distinction.

FEFO (First Expired, First Out)

“First Expired, First Out” is a more targeted system for products with an expiration date indicated on the packaging and, as the name implies, it consists of storing food according to its perishability, that is, the product that expires more quickly must be consumed.

Bearing this premise in mind, it is important that, similarly to what was said earlier, organize your pantry/fridge in chronological order, keeping the products with an expiration date in the front.

Remember: even when adopting the FEFO practice, it is important that you periodically clean your pantry/fridge to detect food that is already out of date.

If you ever find expired food, reject it. However, there is food whose expiration date is only suggestive, and if so, note its consistency, color, and odor. Taste a small portion, only if the characteristics mentioned earlier remain unchanged, otherwise do not take the risk. If the taste is also unchanged, there is more likely to not present a risk to your health. However, in case of doubt, always choose to throw away the food.

The most important of both practices is consistency!

Both the FIFO and the FEFO system will only have positive results if there is a commitment to implement, in your daily routine, until it becomes an “unconscious” habit, in the long run.

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