Frozen or refrigerated storage is indicated by the nature of the product, but some items that appear to be non-critical in fact do need some controlled storage conditions.

Although the food in cans is cooked at high temperatures, its quality will be degraded if stored at elevated temperatures. The best temperature is between 50° and 70° F. Dry foods should also be kept in the same temperature range with humidity below 55%.

People think of military MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat), as being non-perishable since they’re meant to support troops under rugged and varied conditions. But, like other foods, they can be degraded if stored improperly. Research shows that temperature is highly related to MRE shelf life—which can be surprisingly short. It varies from 60 months or longer at 50 °F to as little as 1 month at 120°F.

Many other food products need even more highly controlled conditions; such as lard (which needs a temperature of 35°F–40°F, never over 60°F) and chocolate (which not only needs a combination of 65°F–70°F temperature and humidity of less than 55% to keep well but also absorbs odors of whatever is stored nearby).

Fresh produce presents a particularly complex set of requirements. There are lengthy tables of temperature/humidity values for individual vegetables and fruits. They range from cool with high humidity for such as lettuce and spinach to moderate and drier for such as garlic, pumpkins, and winter squash. Fruits add a third factor—since they give off ethylene gas—a ripening agent for both fruit and vegetables. To avoid premature ripening of vegetables, fruits should always be stored separately from them.