phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at o:5392 DOI 10.1016/j.lwt.2026.119119 Cold storage, hot spots: Household refrigerators as under-recognized hubs of microbial diversity Household refrigerators are indispensable for food storage but also serve as reservoirs for diverse microbial communities, including potential pathogens. International guidelines recommend storage below 5 °C but give little guidance on domestic refrigerator hygiene. This study investigates how temperature and hygiene shape microbial burden, antimicrobial resistance, and community structure in domestic refrigerators using shotgun metagenomic sequencing at species-level resolution. Swabs from 45 refrigerators revealed substantial diversity, with Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Staphylococcus as dominant genera. Only 38% of refrigerators maintained temperatures below 5 °C, while 24% exceeded 7 °C. Cleaning frequency was the key factor associated with bacterial cell equivalents (BCE) and diversity, with high loads linked to infrequent cleaning. Pathogenic species, including Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, were detected in 60% of refrigerators; Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia intermedia occurred sporadically. Resistome analysis identified antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRG), including blaOXA variants, particularly in older appliances, indicating a potential domestic reservoir of resistance. The findings underscore the need for clearer household recommendations on refrigerator hygiene and temperature control, and advance our understanding of the microbial communities occuring in household refrigerators and its implications for consumer health, thereby contributing to improved domestic food safety. eng Domestic Refrigerator Resistome Temperature Microbiome Metagenomics Shotgun Sequencing 2026-08-05T08:16:19.942Z LOMv1.0 Author BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Hartmann;Moritz; FN:Moritz Hartmann END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Dzieciol;Monika; FN:Monika Dzieciol X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0972-6241 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Strachan;Cameron R.; FN:Cameron R. Strachan X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-1296 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Quijada;Narciso M.; FN:Narciso M. Quijada END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Selberherr;Evelyne; FN:Evelyne Selberherr X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2253-5247 END:VCARD https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/scheme https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/text Textdokument Text LOMv1.0 yes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 application/pdf 2234109 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:5392 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:5392/thumbnail LOMv1.0 discipline