Cold storage is a method of storing foods and other perishable products by holding them at low temperatures above freezing and in moist air. Low temperatures prevent spoilage by checking the growth of most harmful bacteria and slowing undesirable chemical reactions. Household refrigerators and commercial walk-in refrigerators used by grocers, butchers, restaurants, and warehouses generally keep food at 32 to 41 °F (0 to 5 °C). However, even at these temperatures, most fresh foods can only be preserved about one to four weeks. Furs are also kept in cold storage during the summer. Florists use cold storage to store flowers, plants, and bulbs. Pharmacists, physicians, and scientists use it to preserve drugs, serums, medicines, and specimens for research. See also Food, Frozen; Refrigeration; Cudahy, Michael.
