The food industry has recognised that heatwaves are causing it a problem.
Rupert Ashby, from the British Frozen Food Federation, said freezers are breaking down or being switched off in supermarkets in the extreme heat because the systems find it hard to deal with the high temperatures.
“The way the fridges work is to cool everything down and expel the hot air,” which normally works well in the ambient air in the UK.
“[However,] with heat like this, trying to expel that air is very difficult,” he added.
He said older stores tend to have a remote compressor on refrigeration units with the condensers outside. Because the system is on the outside, it is finding it hard to expel that hot air.
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “There were a few isolated issues affecting our refrigeration units in stores; however, these were not indicative of any broader issue across our estate.”
They said they had maintenance teams working hard to resolve any isolated issues “as quickly as possible… with customers still able to access fresh and frozen products across the vast majority of our stores”.
Next week, the Met Office is predicting another hot spell, with temperatures in the “low to mid 30s” across much of the UK.
Back at his research lab, Dr Foster’s team is working with many of the supermarkets to redesign fridges for a warmer world. But, he warned, there is no magic wand.
“It could take 20 years before all the refrigeration systems out there are at the maximum temperature they are being designed for today. And by then that will be too low.”
Top tips for a cool fridge
The Food Standards Agency have given the following advice for buying and storing food:
Keep your fridge at 5°C or below and avoid overfilling it so cold air can circulate
Keep chilled foods out of the fridge for as little time as possible to stop bacteria growing and making you ill.
Meanwhile Cindy Nellis and her team at Bath Domestic Appliances have their own tips for keeping your fridge cool in the heat.
Make sure the back of the fridge is clear of dirt and debris, so air can circulate round the coils that cool the refrigerant liquid
Put a bag of ice in the top of the fridge on hot days to help it stay cool
Above all, think what you want before you open the door, so you reduce the amount of hot air you let into the fridge.
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Image source, Matthew Hill / BBC
