Improper food storage order can lead to cross contamination. Some foods are more likely to contain high numbers of bacteria that can make people sick than others and have higher safe cooking temperatures, these foods should be stored below foods that have a lower safe cooking temperature.
For example, raw chicken should always be stored below raw ground beef, and raw ground beef should always be stored below raw seafood and raw eggs. Ready to eat foods, foods that do not need to be cooked, should always be stored above any raw animal proteins.
