Anyone setting up a refrigerator in a UAE kitchen can cut waste by reading its layout before the first grocery load. Solomia Design plans kitchens as part of the luxury interiors it delivers turnkey across the UAE, and the same planning habit applies to a fridge: count the shelves, count the door bins, find the humidity drawer, then check the temperature.

The National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, ne'ma, is working to reduce food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. Households contribute by putting each item where it will be seen and kept at the right temperature. The Bosch KGN39AIAT serves here as a worked example.

White Dubai kitchen in morning light with an open pantry cupboard of containers beside the refrigerator
Morning light on a white kitchen, with the pantry cupboard of containers opened next to the fridge.
  • Keep the fridge at or below 4 C and the freezer at -18 C, and confirm both with an appliance thermometer.
  • Put meat and fish in the coldest drawer, away from produce eaten raw.
  • Leave space between containers so cold air can move around them.
  • Measure your own shelf depth and door-bin height with a tape, and read the humidity setting on your own drawer.

What temperature should a refrigerator hold?

The US Food and Drug Administration states that a refrigerator should be kept at or below 4 C and the freezer at -18 C. Few refrigerator controls show actual temperatures, so the FDA advises a freestanding appliance thermometer to monitor the cabinet and adjust the setting.

Cold air must circulate around refrigerated food, and spills should be wiped up at once. Check the thermometer after loading a large shop, since a full cabinet is the moment the reading matters most.

Open kitchen drawer with oak dividers holding lidded containers and jars of grains
A drawer with oak dividers keeps lidded containers and jars of grains upright and visible.

How many shelves and door bins does the Bosch KGN39AIAT have?

The Bosch Home UK specification page lists the KGN39AIAT at 2030 x 600 x 665 mm (height, width, depth). The fridge holds 260 l on 5 shelves, 3 of them adjustable, with 7 door bins. The freezer adds 103 l. The climate class runs from extended temperate to tropical. Bosch now marks the model as no longer available.

The page gives no shelf depth or bin height, so those numbers come from a tape measure on your own appliance. Measure before buying containers, then read the fridge shelf visibility manual to keep the back of each shelf in sight.

Two refrigerator crisper drawers pulled out, holding lettuce, cucumbers and lemons
Crisper drawers pulled out with lettuce, cucumbers and lemons kept together at the bottom of the fridge.

Where do meat, fish and vegetables go?

Bosch describes its VitaFresh XXL system as two dedicated drawers with their own settings. The upper drawer keeps meat and fish at around 0 C, while the extra-spacious drawer with adjustable humidity is designed for fruit and vegetables. The Pro tier is described with a range of -1 C to +3 C.

The FDA says perishable produce such as strawberries, lettuce, herbs and mushrooms belongs in a clean refrigerator at 4 C or below, and that produce eaten raw should stay separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood. If a fridge has no separate meat drawer, an under-shelf fridge tray can hold raw packs on their own.

Why should the shelves not be packed full?

The FDA advises against crowding the refrigerator so tightly that air cannot circulate. A shelf with gaps between containers lets cold air reach every item, and it lets you see what is already there before buying more of it.

Open refrigerator door with glass jars of pickles and preserves on the door shelves
The fridge door shelves hold jars of pickles and preserves, the warmest part of the cabinet.

Matching container heights to the adjustable shelves keeps rows level. Stacking uniform boxes, such as the ones in the stackable leftover container lids reading, keeps older food at the front.

How does a fridge plan support the UAE food waste target?

Halving food waste by 2030 is a national aim set out by ne'ma, and the kitchen is where households act on it. Giving every purchase a fixed shelf or drawer, at the temperature the FDA and the maker describe, keeps food visible and cold until it is eaten.

Lemons in a small wooden crate and a canvas tote bag on a pale quartz counter by a window
Shopping unloaded on the counter: lemons in a crate and the empty tote bag, before anything goes into the fridge.

Storage reference, FDA and Bosch Home UK, 2026

  • Refrigerator temperature | Value: 4 C or below
  • Freezer temperature | Value: -18 C
  • KGN39AIAT fridge compartment | Value: 260 l, 5 shelves (3 adjustable)
  • KGN39AIAT door bins | Value: 7
  • VitaFresh meat and fish drawer | Value: Around 0 C

Write the layout on a note stuck inside a cabinet door so every member of the household returns food to the same place. A clear grocery unloading surface next to the fridge shortens the time food spends warm while it is put away.