How to Reduce Food Waste With Better Refrigeration

When it comes to consumer food waste, the numbers can be staggering, but consider this: More than one-third of “all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste” in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And where might this problem start (at least in the United States)? Well, a big part of it begins in the American consumer’s refrigerator.

“It’s important to consider the food chain,” said Tara Helms, director of sustainability, North America, at Electrolux Group, which notably owns the Frigidaire brand. “And what most people don’t realize is that the refrigerator is actually that last-mile step in the food chain. So, when you bring groceries home from the store, the refrigerator is that last stop where food is preserved before being prepared, eaten, consumed or wasted.”

People don’t necessarily think about food waste when they’re placing items in the fridge and leaving them – potentially forgetting them – in there. And, quite simply, a bad fridge won’t retain food quality and freshness long enough. You may perceive household members who let food spoil as merely being too busy to take food waste into account, but perhaps on this Earth Day 2025, a reckoning is due.

Optimizing household refrigeration

Combating food waste can be a challenge – and, initially, access to refrigeration was one crucial way to address it.

Fun fact: In 1918, General Motors co-founder William C. Durant bought the manufacturing company that invented the self-contained electric refrigerator (Guardian Frigerator Company) and renamed it Frigidaire – thereafter bringing the convenience of true refrigeration into the American consumer’s home (where, before that, rudimentary iceboxes were ubiquitous).

Since then, Frigidaire has continually evolved over more than a century, launching new features and tech that have revolutionized how we store and preserve our food – from maximizing usable space with its SpaceWise^® organization system (e.g., flip-up and slide-under shelving) to its nifty temp drawer that keeps items fresh with adjustable temperatures that can accommodate anything from party platters to frozen pizzas and yogurt.

Another noteworthy example is Frigidaire’s CrispSeal^® Fresh technology, which blocks out dry air, automatically regulates humidity, and slows down the aging process of produce by filtering out ethylene – a gas emitted by certain fruits and vegetables, which can accelerate their ripening time.

As pointed out by Hannah Humphreys, senior brand manager for food preservation, North America, at Electrolux Group, Frigidaire’s “crisper technology is really where we’ve been focused over the past few years because we know produce is the biggest pain point for consumers, and it’s the food that is most likely to go to waste and spoil more quickly.”

A blind freshness study – conducted by researchers at Clemson University’s Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences – tested three sets of refrigerators for produce-freshness preservation over 14 days and found that Frigidaire’s product kept produce at its peak freshness for longer.

It goes to show that opting for the right fridge, with the latest technologies, can markedly contribute to reducing food waste within each household.

Emphasizing sustainability initiatives

Frigidaire has gone further, too, by designing its refrigerators to curtail energy consumption. The company was awarded the ENERGY STAR^® Most Efficient mark for 23 of its models in 2025.

Additionally, Frigidaire has been prioritizing sustainability, which ties into the reduction of food waste – especially with its strategy to educate younger generations about food responsibility. To wit, the Electrolux Food Foundation – an independent, nonprofit organization founded by Electrolux Group – has implemented their Food Heroes initiative, which has engaged over 200,000 kids worldwide so far.

“We bring employee volunteers to teach children about healthy eating habits, proportions on the plate, what that can mean in terms of the value chain of food, and the impacts on sustainability,” Helms said.

In 2024 alone, the initiative put in more than 3,000 hours while hosting 4,000 workshops to educate more than 81,000 kids globally.

“We always like to pair the workshop with an actual demonstration or cooking experience with the children,” Helms continued. “So, they don’t just come into our office to watch, but they’ll arrive and interact with a full kitchen, with a professional chef who teaches them how to eat and prepare food sustainably.”

Hopefully then, equipped with such insight and food education, the new generation will become more mindful of food waste – and avoid it at all costs.

Click here to browse the full line of Frigidaire refrigerators.