You just came home from shopping at your local grocer for fresh fruits and veggies, placed them in the lower drawer of your fridge with full intent on coming back to eat them. Little do you know, not but a few days later, an army of mold spores and bacteria beat you to your recently purchased produce.

You might ask, "how could this have happened?" Well, it's simply a matter of practicing poor produce selection and having a lack of produce knowledge, among other things.

It's important though for you to know the dos and don't s in selecting produce so that down the line, you'll be able to outmaneuver your moldy and intrusive enemies on the refrigerator front lines.

To avoid fruit and vegetable selection pitfalls and gain tactics to defeat your fridge foes, consider the following:

• Go Out of Your Way to Get Picky:

Be selective and take your time when choosing your next peach, cucumber or bushel of berries. Whether a fruit or vegetable, be mindful of imperfections. Check for bumps, bruises and punctures. First and foremost, put back the bad and buy the good; no one wants to purchase damaged produce!

Also, buy green. Buy your produce unripened so it can ready itself in your fridge from home.

• Wash AND Dry Before You Chill:

After sifting and selecting through the good and bad produce at your grocer, go home and immediately wash your fruits and veggies. But, make sure to thoroughly dry them before refrigerating, as water droplets can shorten shelf and fridge-life.

• Know Your Refrigerator:

Proper fridge temperature settings are of utmost importance in keeping your fruits and vegetables fresh and edible. The ideal fridge temperatures range from 38 to 40 degrees F (which can be tested via a refrigerator thermometer placed in a glass of water for 5 to 8 hours in your fridge). Adjust your fridge's settings accordingly to you and your food's needs (if problems arise about temperature within your appliance and you're left befuddled, seek the applicable manufacturer to resolve the issue).

• Refrigerator Temperature VS. Room Temperature:

Most fruits and vegetables prefer refrigerators, but some actually need warmer temperatures to ripen and sit well. Fruits such as avocados and bananas as well as citrus and tropical fruits fare better outside the fridge, in room temperature. And vegetables such as tomatoes need to be out of the refrigerator bin and on a counter top instead.

• When All Else Fails, Bag It:

The age old trick of bagging your produce in brown paper bags truly does work to effectively store and ripen your produce. This is where buying green comes in handy too. Buy it green, bag it at home and be patient to eat.

Green plastic bags are also a great way to store produce, as they contain gas absorption properties to filter out damaging elements that would normally speed up fruit and vegetable ripening and eventual decomposition.

Overall, don't be silly, just bag your produce. They'll ripen more efficiently, last much longer and you'll get your monies worth!

In the battle of moving produce from the grocer to your home and keeping fruits and vegetables fresh, there will always be one or two bad apples to deal with. But, they can be weeded out with proper knowledge and knowhow. It's solely up to you, as an army of one in the battle of harboring fresh fruits and veggies, to follow the above tips and defeat your moldy opposition.